There's a School Around Here Somewhere ...

"I know there's a school around here somewhere. It's not always going to be like summer camp."

That was Ali on the eve of her first "real" day at Purdue University.

Her summer camp reference was to Boiler Gold Rush, a $320 chance to move in a week before classes, meet new friends, get acclimated to campus and campus life. For those of you who will face a decision like this in the future: spend the money, swallow hard and send your baby early.

It's not about you anymore. Not that it ever was.

BGR offers a ton of activities, including some assemblies, which Ali pointed out later, are actually optional. "Because, you know, we're adults now and we can decide what we do."

She did do some of the "official" stuff, but she also played glow-in-the-dark capture the flag, ran through fountains, danced and acted like a crazy kid. It was mostly lots of fun and gave her the chance to actually know some of the thousands of people who, come class time, will be jostling through the stairwells and sidewalks.

I joined a Facebook parents group just to see if there was stuff I needed to know. Mostly I lurk and make fun of some of the parents who seem to want to live under their kid's beds. (Yeah, yeah, it occurred to me, but I would never DO it). One guy had the guts to post something like, "Are any of your students actually doing any of the move-in work?" That guy better never run into some of the moms who chewed on him like feral cats. "This is supposed to be a SAFE place!" one whined. That page is a lot like watching reality TV -- makes you feel better about your own level of crazy.

We had some teary moments during drop-off, but it was mostly good. BGR makes move-in easy as crew meet you and lug most of your stuff upstairs for you. They don't accept tips, but give good advice and so most of the heavy lifting.

Ali's Herron High School and Ireland travel buddy, Corie, came by and hung out with us. She downloaded all she'd learned by moving in the day earlier. We found a place for lunch where Ali could indulge her love of crab, loaded the girls up on snacks and dropped them on the sidewalk with just enough time to get to a BGR meeting. Leaving her with Corie made it a lot better than leaving her alone.

I didn't cry all the way home, but there were more than a few misty miles. It's a good thing the Captain was driving. I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was hard and I miss her. I had a lump in my throat the size of Chicago for most of drop-off day Made it hard to talk. To breathe.

At the same time, I was/am so proud of her.

Until, of course, I got home and realize she's relocated the stupid rubber snake she'd bought to torment me just before her departure. I'd purposefully left it where she'd hidden it so it wouldn't give me a heart attack. I was going to take care of it when I got home. And yes, I almost stepped on it and wet myself when I finally found it again. I could hear her evil cackle as I recovered my composure.

So she spent her first several days having fun. She's been great about sending a text now and again.

She called us her first Sunday night to report in before she had to actually get to schoolwork. All seemed well and she was excited for her 8 a.m. chemistry class -- one of three chem classes she's taking. (Crazy, right?!)

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to set two alarms," she reported to her father the next day.

That's right, she slept through most of her first class on her first day. I'm sure she was cussing up a blue streak and skid into class with her glasses askew and hair sticking up on all sides. She made a point to introduce herself and apologize to the professor after, though. Chemistry is her favorite subject and her major, so I'm glad she took the initiative. The lecture was recorded, so no real harm done. Welcome to college, Ali.... :)

And yes, she's been setting two alarms ever since, and she's learning that her high school habits don't exactly work for college assignments. There's a lot more reading, a lot more out-of-class work and a lot more work in general. But she's digging in.

Some things she's learned:

• If you don't lock your bike, it will end up in a tree. (That's not her bike. She was part of the squad that planted it up there, because she's evil Alison Reed.)
• If your room-mate gets sick, you will, too.
• Staying up til 2:30 a.m. watching movies with your new friends makes it hard to get to morning classes, even with two alarms.
• It's awesome to have a stir fry station in your dorm.
• Calling your mom on her birthday is the best gift you can give her.

She has her first week in, and I haven't called to check on her. Her name did come up last night, as we had an impromptu dinner with friends. Jeff said, "She's probably out drinking."

He's such a comfort.