It's done.

For the last time we've moved a new college freshman into their dorm.  Not that we won't be carrying boxes into and out of a dorm for several years to come...but nothing compares to the very first time.  The flip side is when they head off with a carload and move themselves into a dorm room you've never seen.  We've experienced both this week.

The disorder...

...slowly becomes order.

I didn't see a single room where anyone thought to shuffle the furniture...or raise the bed up.  Some parents saw what we'd done and went off to duplicate it.  I imagine lots of furniture is getting shuffled around once kids start seeing other rooms.

Now, on another note...I have visited MANY dorms.  Whether it's because my kids live there or on a tour...the bathroom tells a whole lot about college life.  I NEVER miss the opportunity to look in the bathroom on a tour.  My husband can tell you some stories...however...I am the mother and I want to see.  Plus, I went to college.  Lived in 4 different dorms and know all about bathrooms...whether shared or en suite.

This university has rooms set up specifically for tours so parents never actually set foot in any of the space a kid lives in.  However, even if I'd seen the bathrooms, those wouldn't have counted because the freshman dorms have been remodeled.  And, let me tell you, they have figured out something that just might be worth all the money we're paying....bathrooms matter. 

Being the 50 year old mother of 3...the first place I needed to visit upon carrying my first load up to the 3rd floor was the bathroom.  OMG!  I hurried out and went to get Buttercup.

Private rooms!  Each has a toilet, sink, paper towel, and a soap dispenser.  

Showers also have a private room.  

 AND....because they are the hall bathrooms....they get cleaned E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y!

Back to the real point of the day.....Buttercup is moved in, meeting people, and occasionally sending me a text to help ease the worry.  I also had the fun of running into a mother I knew from my preschool days.  Her daughter and my daughter were in preschool together.  So were our boys.  Yay...a friendly face. 

Stitching....yes....I will stitch and sew my way through this transitional fall.

Pam