This was a productive week, including as it did Teen B's college orientation session. I thought I had made reservations for us to stay in a dorm Wednesday night, but apparently I hadn't (we found this out Tuesday night). What was I saying last week about how my mind can't do everything it used to be able to? I think I planned to do it "later" and "later" never came, because I had forgotten that I was going to do it "later." So on Tuesday night I made us a reservation at the Best Western that's right across the street from campus. This would have been perfect except that they were in the process of renovating the breakfast room, so there was no free breakfast.
Why couldn't I have worked this out sooner, researched hotels instead of grabbing the first one I saw, etc.? Life is hard when your mind is going.
I was a little nervous about the drive to Fort Collins, but I shouldn't have been. It's really easy. When we went last summer, we took a very back-roadsy way (instructed to by Google), but this time I took a more direct route. Basically it's the Diagonal, then drive through Longmont on Hover, go east on 66 which leads you to 287, drive through Berthoud, and then 287 becomes Berthoud Parkway which becomes Taft which becomes Shields, turn right on Laurel, and you're there. We left at 1 pm and it takes about an hour and a half, maybe less, maybe more, depending on traffic.
We parked in the main lot, which had plenty of space (it was about 2:30 pm), and went into the Lory Student Center so that Teen B could get his Ram Card. They've been pestering him about the Ram Card over email for a while now, trying to get him to take his own photo for it, but the rules for the photo are very complicated (on a white background, only certain body parts included, I forget what all). We decided to just go to the Ram Card office and let them take the picture, and this was a smart choice. There was no one in line ahead of us, it took about one minute to fill out the forms and take the picture, and then 30 seconds later the card was ready.
I was very hungry, because we had forgotten to eat lunch before leaving home, so we drove to the closest Starbucks for a snack. I had a yogurt parfait and Teen B had a ham & swiss croissant, plus our usual drinks. Then we went back to the hotel to crash for real. Teen B wanted to walk around campus and explore, but I was worried about my knee holding up, so I begged off. What we should do is go back to campus again later this summer and explore then. It's really not that far away. I'll see how it goes.
After eating we went back to the hotel again and I tried out the pool and hot tub. Teen B had forgotten to bring his swim stuff (even though I told him to -- he assumed I would pack it for him), but he dangled his legs in the hot tub. It was a very nice pool. I would stay at this hotel again just for the pool.
And then we went back to the room, took showers, and watched an old episode of "Sherlock" on PBS. I couldn't hear it very well (we didn't want to turn the sound up too high, for fear of bothering other guests), but it didn't seem to matter. Shows like that follow such a set pattern, it doesn't really matter what exactly the characters are saying.
We stayed up too late, of course, and very soon my alarm was beeping, announcing 7 am. It was at this point that the lack of a free breakfast became a problem. I had brought half a loaf of banana bread with us, and we each had some of that, so we weren't completely starving, but I really wanted a cup of coffee or tea. But there wasn't time to go back to Starbucks. We packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and drove back to the parking lot for the Lory Student Center, where we were supposed to check in for the orientation.
I didn't take any pictures during the orientation, but suffice it to say, it was long and tiring (especially for someone who hadn't had breakfast) and really very helpful. I learned a lot and got some important questions answered, such as what to do about health insurance. I also learned, right at the end, that there is a concert band class offered in the spring that you don't have to audition for, and Teen B said he would like to participate in that. Score! For the parents, there was an interesting talk about transitions, where they explained that right now our kids are probably in "the neutral zone," and that's why they're being nasty and uncommunicative (implying that this is a state unlike their usual one). I also attended a session given by someone in Disability Services where they explained how to apply for "accommodations," but they didn't explain how to get your kid who doesn't think they're disabled to apply for those services, so that's still a big question. We'll see.
By 3 pm or so, the orientation was winding down and I was exhausted, so we just left. We stopped at Starbucks again on our way out of town and got me a large caffeinated beverage, which made it possible for me to drive home. We were home before 5 pm.
Rocket Boy's appointment that afternoon was with his orthopedist, to find out whether he needs to have surgery right away, but he didn't get a definite answer. Apparently his rotator cuff is not as badly torn as the other one, so the doctor thought physical therapy might be enough. The key factor affecting his decision is that RB is not currently in much pain. So they agreed to meet again in about six weeks and reevaluate. This means that we can plan a vacation trip for July! So we're going to work on that now.
The concert was wonderful, as always. The theme that night was "80s Dance Party," so in addition to various patriotic songs they also played band arrangements of lots of dumb 80s songs, like "Take On Me" by A-ha, and "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen, and "Up Where We Belong," and I forget what else. One of the percussionists was really getting into the music, dancing along with it while playing various drums and things, and I was dancing along in my camping chair. I was sitting close to a man who had a very nice singing voice (we were encouraged to sing along to "The Star Spangled Banner"), and he and I also clapped along with some of the songs (as we were encouraged to do).
The camping chair turned out to be a bad choice, because I had a very hard time getting out of it, with my weak knee. Next time I'll try a regular patio chair. Also, we were kind of on a hill, which is why once again you can't really see the band in my photo, just people in their camping chairs.
It's fine. It's SOOOO fun. I plan to go again tomorrow, when they will be in Harlow Platts Park and the theme will be "Out of This World." The Sweet Cow Moomobile will be there, so maybe I'll be able to get Teen B to come.
Oh, and we all voted! Teen A's ballot arrived in the mail last week along with Rocket Boy's and mine, but Teen B didn't get one. I realized that he probably wasn't registered. I looked it up and realized he could register online with his new drivers license number, so we did that, and his ballot arrived a few days later. So I helped him fill it out and dropped it off today. All four of us voted. Take that, Republicans!
I don't have a lot planned for this coming week, but I have ideas.
- Monday: the concert at 7 pm, as noted above
- Maybe I can finally take Teen B's clarinet in to the repair shop, as planned
- Teen B keeps making noises about a new laptop, so maybe this could be the week we buy him one (he's going to buy it with his own money, but he needs me to go too and interact with the salesperson, etc.)
- Teen A finally had his first flight lesson last Sunday, and we think he has another one scheduled for this coming Saturday, but since that's 4th of July, maybe it's actually for the 11th
- We have to figure out how to celebrate the 4th -- a barbecue probably, but anything else? It's so frustrating having Trump be in charge of the 250th. You have to think of ways to celebrate but also be defiant. Must think about this.
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