Letting go, part 7 Sunday, Aug 31 2008 

Mike in College and Prayers and Family Life Fran 7:42 pm

We met up with Mike in the morning for the welcome address by the university president, Dr. Lazarus, and then we parted company for the various orientation meetings for students and parents.  Then we re-connected for lunch at the dining hall where Mike will be taking his meals.  The food was great, but probably not what the students will be served on a daily basis.

This was the day to take care of business.  Our hands are tied because Mike has to have a two-hour meeting with the Admin Spec to complete the ROTC paperwork 35 miles north before he is official,  but he was able to get his book allowance by showing his official letter from ROTC headquarters in Alabama. 

The busyness of the day was interrupted by the announcement by John McCain of Sarah Palin as his running mate.  This was exciting news for Mike who had been rooting for her for weeks.  He has a friend who almost single-handedly led the charge to get her on the ballot.  He did it through his blog, and you can read about him here.  Congratulations, Adam!  Now let’s hope she is all that people hope she will be.

Larry tried to get the paperwork completed to register Mike’s car, but to get a VIN verification in Texas, you have to get an appointment at the impound yard, and they never returned Larry’s calls.  So Mike will have to do that on top of everything else on Tuesday of next week.

They kept the new students very busy today.  We met up with some home-town people that we hadn’t seen in years and took a walk to the beautiful Cistercian Abbey which is a short jaunt from the campus.  Many of the UD students attend Mass there because it is so beautifully celebrated with Gregorian chant sung by the monks.  After dinner in the Ratskeller, Mike and his new-found friend took off to the next orientation activity and we went to the final parent reception before leaving for the hotel. 

Those moments of emotion hit at the oddest times, but we know everything is going to be OK.  This evening’s goodbye wasn’t too bad because I knew we would see Mike in the morning before leaving for home.

 

Letting go, part 6… Sunday, Aug 31 2008 

Mike in College Fran 7:29 pm

Letting go, part 6

After an already full morning in Denton, TX and picking up Mike’s car, we finally arrived in Irving where the University of Dallas is located.  This is not a large school and immediately we were meeting people with like values and connections to people we know in one way or another.  The process of getting orientation packets and Mike’s room key and ID card was easy, and we were soon on our way to find his room in Madonna Hall.  The rooms, as you can see, are pretty basic and non-descript.  Before long, Mike and Larry unloaded the car (which breathed a sigh of relief) and Mike was putting things away.  He had to report to ROTC in Denton, 35 miles north, so he took off and we went to find our hotel.  Unfortunately, when he arrived at the appointed time and place in Denton, nobody was to be found, so he still has not completed any business there.  He drove back to UD and we saw him briefly before he had to leave for dinner and orientation activities.

The University had a lovely orientation dinner for the parents and we met some wonderful couples from California, Hawaii and Louisiana.  Dallas has a reputation for orthodoxy and that is what attracted many of these parents and their students in the first place.  Add to that a unique core curriculum and a Rome program without parallel and you have first class university.  Since this is our third student at this university, we felt immediately at home with the surroundings.  This would be Mike’s first night in his new surroundings with a with a roommate, and our first in 34 years as empty-nesters.  That fact probably won’t completely hit us until we return home to the nest…

 

Letting go, part 5… Sunday, Aug 31 2008 

Prayers and Family Life Fran 7:20 pm

The officer we spoke to at NTU told Mike to return that afternoon at 3:30 to get his paperwork started and to be issued his physical training uniform, etc.  After the disappointment with not being able to sign in at ROTC, we left for the highlight of Mike’s trip.  The University of Dallas, you might ask?  No……………………

 

The car.  

He bought a car on Ebay back in July.  The car was in Dallas so he arranged to pick it up when we arrived.  Today was the day.  We drove to Grand Prairie to meet his 1999 Volvo V70R wagon.  His excitement was palpable, and he was not disappointed.  It is a beauty—and it is loaded with anything they can put on a car.  He got it at a great price and we think it will be perfect for him, because he has to haul his stuff back and forth at the end of each school year.  Nothing can be left on campus during the summer months or while he spends his semester in Rome next year. 

The paper process had been accomplished ahead of time, so after he signed the release, off he and his dad drove for the nearest gas station.  I followed in our car and dad and son got to enjoy the newness of the experience in Mike’s first real car together.  It was so much fun to see Mike like a kid with his new toy.  He is going to put a lot of miles on this vehicle as a young adult over the next four years while he drives it to and from Colorado as well as to and from Denton every week.  I pray it will serve him well.