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Update: College Kid Woes: Parent in Pickles

No matter what the phase is that I am going through in my life, I try my best to be as grateful and happy as I can be. Yeah, sure, I get bamboozled by bad news and stuff (who isn’t, anyway, these days) but there’s always a silver lining in every dark cloud. 

So cliche but I can’t help it. It’s the secret sauce to surviving. 

On top of that, both my boys are now enrolled (albeit in a funny kind of Coronavirus way) into college and the spending is mind-blowing. 

I am not alone in this, of course. The rest of the world is with me on this one but it doesn’t make it any easier. At some point, if you’re like me, we might find ourselves wondering if it was better for our kids to actually take a what-you-call a short hiatus while waiting for that darn vaccine. 

What rubs me the wrong way is that we are paying full fees for college but are presented fed at the trough with a buffet of Masterclass-style and Udemy kind of services. I can’t help but feel shortchanged, really. But going back to college/school full-time comes with a flurry of caution, fear, anxiety, stress, and just worry about everything. 

The convoluted situation we’re in makes things that much harder to keep things together like HOmaiGERD. 

Back in the days when I was a kid, getting bored was a luxury. We found things to do, think about, imagine, and then we sit around doing a carousel of things that either flamed out, implode or brought us to the next level of epiphany.  

“When we space out, our minds aren’t switched off.” - What Boredom Does to You - Nautilus

Thankfully, my elder son who had a short stint of ‘normal college days’ (before the Pandemic) seems to be riding the wind of change. My younger son is enrolling, right off the bat, into an e-college environment. Nobody, including me and the college, knows what the right things to do are, and waiting for the next government announcement daily. 

It’s an archipelago of pain, excitement, and joy.

Marsha Maung with rose headband

When your son is ‘enrolled into college’ but still sitting there with his ‘official college email’ in front of his computer, Google Calendar, and a suite of Microsoft tools, it’s hard to enjoy that puffed-up parent pride that usually comes with having an offspring launch into the next phase of his life. 

He’s right here. Sitting in front of his computer just like what he’s been doing for the past few months. As a parent, no amount of ham-fisted trash-banging is going to put any duck in a row. It’s now all up to him to learn how to be more self-regulated when it comes to scheduling and putting his show on the road.  

I have working remotely full-time in spades because I’ve been doing this for the past 20 years. I am trying to show him the ropes and how to motivate himself to be there when classes or meetings are supposed to be held. Knowing my younger son, the baby of the family, this is a little bit of an uphill trek. 

But trek we will. There’s no point in putting up a stink about anything at this point.

On the bright side, my birthday came and went and we missed our yearly favorite-restaurant binging session but it’s OK. A lot of people have had it worse. But my kids learned how to use their own bank accounts (YEAH, they’re old enough to have their own bank accounts now - YAHOO…or maybe not?) and shopping apps to get me something simple for my birthday.

I'm happy that I got to celebrate it, anyway. 

It’s a little late but it’s Manuka-Honey sweet! (No, I’m not selling Manuka and they did not get me Manuka Honey)

Cute piggy purse present

I also loved the fact that I’ve found something that’s worked out for the family so far and am trying to cook more at home. I’ll elaborate on that later. Sneak peek - I’m going back to being a crockpot Queen. #smileyface #homecooking #shortcut

It’s Sunday! Here's wishing every single one of you out there a happy weekend!

Lots love coming your way,
XOXO

Marsha Maung's online signature

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