We've already bought the majority of the larger items, things like a duvet and pillows, pots and pans, and you can see one set of bedding which has been washed and ironed, it's so cute adorned in sunflowers and buzzy bees. You can't see the second set she chose which is underneath but is also very pretty, a red patchwork design. There's still lots of smaller items left to buy.
As well as shopping for essentials, there's lots of paperwork to complete. Registration for the local doctor's surgery, an application for a HC2 certificate to help with medical costs, university enrollment, an application for a student bank account, an application for a rail card, an application for an NUS Extra card and tickets for freshers events to be purchased among other things.
On top of this, Eleanor's been given some work to complete before her first day of induction, an essay illustrating the roles of biomedical scientists in the NHS. She thought she was going to have some rest and relaxation during the last days of summer but this has put a spanner in the works.
Mick and I are going out for a meal tonight with Eleanor and her boyfriend and his parents. We thought it would be nice to have a get together before they head off. He's studying in Sheffield, so they won't be all that far away from each other, and he leaves next Saturday, a week ahead of Eleanor.
It's all go around here at the moment, how different things will be in a fortnight when Mick and I are home alone for the first time in over twenty one years. I suppose that means we'll have to start talking to each other again.
Ha ha...it will definitely be quite the change, won't it? We enjoy time on our own (when the kids spend a few days at the grandparents), but I must say it would be difficult to have them leave for an extended period of time.
ReplyDeleteWe're definitely going to see a big change. We soon got used to Daniel not being around when he left for uni three years ago and he's still in York at the moment. I think it's going to be very different this time around with just the two of us being left at home.
DeleteMy husband and I both cried when our daughter went off to college. We were living in Turkey and she had to fly back to Georgia on her own.
ReplyDeleteIt must be hard when your son or daughter is in a different country. Daniel's girlfriend is American and she's only been home once since she arrived three years ago.
DeleteGoodness it's going to be a hectic couple of weeks by the look of it. Enjoy your evening. Your last paragraph made me laugh out loud. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteIt is. I thought things were going to be easier this time round with me being an old hand at it all after Daniel but there seems to be much more to do with Eleanor, I'm not sure why.
DeleteIts all their friends coming round that I missed.A quiet house just didn't seem right but you get used to it very quickly and I certainly didn't miss all the washing of sports gear being presented on a Sunday evening after a weekend away playing badminton(my son)
ReplyDeleteFunny you should say that, Daniel's been coming home to play cricket since he finished uni but he leaves the whites for me to wash. He may not be living at home at the moment but I still get some of his jobs to do.
DeleteYou are one busy family. I remember how I felt when our daughter went off to college. I couldn't wear eye makeup for days....kept crying it off. I know - silly - but I sure missed her being around.
ReplyDeletexxx
Not silly at all. I thought my first leaving would be the hardest but I think it's just as hard, if not more, this time around.
DeleteWe love our time together, knowing our youngsters are all doing well in their lives, helps us, but enjoy being just two again, it truly is fun.
ReplyDeleteI know it's just another chapter in our lives. I've told Daniel and Eleanor to embrace everything that comes along for them and that's what I intend to do too.
DeleteI remember getting Stevie-Leigh all kitted up for Uni, it was a mad rush for us because she was orgionaly going to do the 4 year course part time and work, allowing her to stay at home, then she went to the open day the week before uni started and decided she wanted to change and go full time and live there! We had to do all sorts of ringing around but luckily they accepted her change and she ended up starting her course the day after! She caught the train for two weeks while they sorted a place at halls for her. She loved it though and still misses Worcester where she was.
ReplyDeleteYou will notice a huge difference in the house with no kids there, less washing and ironing and cleaning for one, lol.
Seriously though, it will be strange for a while but you do get used to it very quickly :-)
Wishing her all the best for her future.
Enjoy your meal tonight. x
Goodness, that must have been hectic for you all, and you didn't have much time to get used to the idea of her going away either. I must admit that I'm looking forward to the benefits of living as a couple again, especially the less washing bit.
DeleteBest of luck to your daughter as she travels off to school. I am missing both of my boys who are off at college.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Thank you. Your boys are much further away than Eleanor will be, I do have the consolation that she's less than a couple of hours away and I'm sure there won't be much time in between visits.
DeleteA whole new way of life is about to begin.
ReplyDeleteIt is. I'm sure there'll be things I do like about it and things I don't, but I'm pleased that I've raised two kids who are confident enough to go and make their own way in the world.
DeleteI like the pizza cutter, an essential piece of uni cut I bet!
ReplyDeleteLove the bee bedding set. I hope these couple of weeks go smoothly.
Lisa x
I'm sure there'll be many pizzas eaten over the course of the next three years. Eleanor's enjoyed choosing things for her room, it's all quite exciting at the moment but I'm sure reality will kick in when she has to get down to the hard work.
DeleteWow, what a big change. There's a lot to do to get ready, isn't there? I remember doing that like it was yesterday, hard to believe it's been 20 years! I hope everything goes smoothly in these last days before you send her off. I know she will do fine and have a great experience.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember being this busy with everything when Daniel left for university, perhaps I've just forgotten it all. It's going to be a big change for us all, on to the next chapter in our lives.
DeleteRemembering my college days
ReplyDeletehttp://shilpachandrasekheran.blogspot.in/?m=1
I left school at sixteen but I wish I hadn't now that I see all the opportunities on offer.
DeleteLife goes in chapters and this is certainly a new one for all of you. Probably daunting, heart wrenching but exciting too. How about a few activities for just you and Mick, maybe even a night away something out of the norm just for you two xcx
ReplyDeleteI think I'm definitely going to need a few distractions for a while once Eleanor leaves, it's just going to be so quiet around here for one thing. It's probably a good time to get started on my 50 before 50 list.
DeleteYour baby girl growing up, it must feel so strange going back to just two of you again though probably not much time to think about it with all the excitement going on. I'm sure you and hubby will soon fill all the new time you have xx
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it will be strange with just the two of us in the house but I think we'll soon get used to it. It actually feels strange when Daniel's back home now, we soon got used to him being away so I'm sure it will be the same with Eleanor.
DeleteSeeing Eleanor off to university is exciting, but a lot to sort out and prepare beforehand. Then there's the change for you and your husband. I'm sure you'll take it in your stride, but it's still an emotional time. I remember when our daughters left home, one as a live-in children's nanny and the other to train as a paediatric nurse in Sheffield miles away from where we lived in Berkshire. Now it's almost the turn of our granddaughter, whose a year younger than Eleanor. She's going to look at universities soon such as Nottingham and York before applying for entrance next year.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Nottingham yet but Daniel's enjoyed living in York, it's such a lovely city. We enjoyed looking at all the universities before Daniel and Eleanor make their choices, there's such a lot on offer and so many great opportunities for them.
DeleteI laughed at your last paragraph as well, Jo. I'd lay bets that you and Mick talk to each other a lot right now. You'll do it even more when the house goes quiet! :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure relationships must change when the kids have flown the nest, though I'm under no illusion that we'll still be needed at times. It will be nice to have more time for ourselves again though.
DeleteIt will feel strange, I remember when both daughters left home. You soon know when they're back ......my hall was full of black bags containing their worldly goods and washing !!!
ReplyDeleteHa ha. I've got boxes and black bags littering my porch at the moment, all Daniel's uni things which haven't yet been sorted out.
DeleteExiting! Wishing Eleanor all the best. x
ReplyDeleteThank you. It is exciting, all those new experiences and opportunities awaiting her, I'm just a little bit envious.
DeleteYou could always start an Open university degree yourself :) My degree has taken 28 years so far (the New Zealand equiv. of Open Uni)... down to the last 5 papers. It has cost me $6000 for 8 papers the last few years - for a $150 a year payrise when I finish (unless you are a teacher in NZ, a degree is pretty worthless in the school system - apart from knowledge!!). Enjoy the quiet house.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't know where to start, I've been out of education for too long now. I left school at 16 but I have to say that I really do regret that now after seeing all the opportunities on offer these days.
DeleteSuch an exciting time. Mike vividly recalls coming home from work to find the dining room rammed full of stuff! It will be four years before Harry goes to uni, I'm sure Mike and I will feel the same way! x
ReplyDeleteI definitely think you will. It was a big step when Daniel left to go to uni but it's another feeling altogether when it's your youngest which is going and there's only going to be the two of you left at home.
DeleteOh my - I am exhausted just reading about all the preparations! Stuart lived at home when he was at uni ..... although at the end of his first year, it was us who upped and left home - we went off to live in Indonesia!!
ReplyDeleteThat's taking things to the extreme, ha ha. Daniel was thinking of living at home but he's glad now that he didn't, he had a great time living out and making new friends.
DeleteAlthough Stuart made lots of friends at uni, they all went their separate ways and he is only still friends with one of them. However, living at home, he kept up with all his school friends, and they are all still close, over 20 years on. So he had the best of both worlds
DeleteThat's good, it's nice that they stay friends with people they've known since they were young. Daniel's made lots of friends at uni, I'm not sure how many he'll end up keeping in touch with over the years, they live all over the country, but he's kept up with old friends at home too and even those he knew from school who have gone to different universities. Some of them have travelled to York to spend time with him there over the past three years and he's also travelled to where they've been studying to see them too. Some are still at uni having taken a Masters course but some have come home now so he's been catching up with them again lately. It's nice that friendships can continue.
DeleteWishing your daughter well in her studies.
ReplyDeleteThank you. She's looking forward to getting started.
DeleteWishing Eleanor lots of luck in her new course. My eldest is off to uni next week too, though she's close enough to live at home for the short term - we decided not to book accommodation before she went to Peru in case she changed her mind about going to uni (which she did, briefly). All change, eh? Hope you're feeling OK xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, good luck to your daughter too. It's such an exciting time for them. Just wait until she decides to move out, it costs and arm and a leg.
DeleteGood luck to Eleanor on her journey to university....I do love her bee bed sheets.
ReplyDeleteThe comment about you and Mike talking again made me smile. Hubby and I manage to still not really have conversations and yet be in the same room....having said that we didn't get rid of all of the kids either. The son decided to go into work...he's not overly academic and so still lives at home and gives us grief!!
Thank you. I'm not sure we've seen the back of Daniel yet, he's still living in York at the moment after finished university there but if he doesn't get a job soon he'll have to come home. I don't think they really want to do that when they've had a taste of independence and it will certainly take some getting used to for all of us if he does.
DeleteYes, all change - but it is an exciting time - and I'm sure Eleanor will enjoy her time at Uni.
ReplyDeleteThat bedding set looks a very nice design ...
All the best Jan
I'm just hoping that she settles well, it can be quite a challenging time leaving home for the first time, but she's excited to go so I'm hoping that bodes well.
DeleteBack on line for the moment, though not at S-I-l's, but we must catch up soon. It seems amazing that Eleanor has to work on something before she even starts & all the gear as well. All the best to her on her new journey. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of Eleanor's friends have had any work to do before they start, even people she's spoken to online who are starting at the same university haven't been asked to prepare anything, it must just be her course. It's all done though now so she can relax for her final week at home.
DeleteEden's pretty much packed, and she goes on the 24th. She'll be my first child to leave and my only daughter. I'm absolutely dreading it. She'll be fine, I however will be a snivelling mess for several days I'm sure! Best of luck to Eleanor x
ReplyDeleteI'll be the same. I thought my first leaving would be hard but I think the last one is actually harder. I'm sure we'll both get used to it though, it's just another chapter in our's and their lives and very exciting really. Thank you, good luck to Eden too.
Delete