College Visitations Done - Decision to be Made

Eight days, three colleges, and now it is time for her decision. We left the Wednesday before Easter and drove to Providence, Rhode Island for our 2 day visit to Brown University. The drive was great considering it was evening and close to a holiday weekend. We made the trip to Providence in 5 1/2 hours including a longer than planned stop at Cracker Barrel. The entire next day was spent on the Brown campus doing tours, meeting with admissions staff, etc. The campus is pretty and right in Providence. Casey thought our tour guide was "hot". He had a great personality as well.

Next we were headed up to Maine for an Easter weekend with family. The drive was great and we stopped for lunch in Wells Maine at Billy's Chowder House. The view was incredible and made me feel so happy to be back in Maine. It only took us about 5 hours to get to Aunt Rina's house. We got settled in and visited for awhile. Then we headed out to dinner with Uncle Tony and Aunt Isabelle at the Chicken Coop - boy the memories of that place were very strong. We also stopped by to see Aunt Pauline after dinner (she worked at the Coop for 30 years tending bar). The entire weekend was spent visiting with family. At times it was overwhelming for Casey as she didn't grow up surrounded by so much family due to the fact that we lived far away from family. She did enjoy herself even it at times it seemed too much. Easter Sunday was spent at Kenny and Margaret's beautiful house in Belfast. The food was fantastic and the laughter abundant. I love being from a big family.

Early Monday morning we drove to Bowdoin for their accepted students program. Casey had pretty much decided that she wasn't going there so we didn't spend much time visiting the campus. We got in the car around 11 am and headed home to sleep in our own beds for 2 nights before heading to Dartmouth. It was a long drive but we got home around 8 pm. Two days later we were on the road again to Dartmouth and their accepted students Dimensions program. Casey stayed in the dorm and did activities with current students. I basically was on my own for the entire time. I walked all over the campus and took a lot of pictures.Once again we were heading home; the college visitations done. Now she has a decision to make. Bowdoin is out of the picture so we are left with Brown and Dartmouth. It is a big decision and I know that she is being very thoughtful about it.

I hope this trip is one that Casey will remember. I took lots of pictures and did journaling every night about what we did. I enjoyed the traveling with Casey and spending time with her. I hope that Larry gets to do this with Greg. I would like to do this trip with Greg too, but I don't want the next four years to pass too quickly. Life is just passing by way too fast and I want it to slow down some!!

It Snowed Today

April 8 and it snowed today. Not very much but snow all the same. We also had a freak snowstorm on Wednesday that lasted about 30 minutes. It sure is pretty when it snows on the blooming trees. The weather has been freaky lately and my sinuses have been feeling the effect. I love to see the forsythias all in bloom along the property line. They certainly stand out as you are coming up Street Road. My peas are starting to come along nicely. Maybe this weekend I will plant the lettuce seeds.

April is here and the college acceptances have been received. She is in at Middlebury, Smith, Bowdoin, Brown and Dartmouth. The decision is down to Bowdoin, Brown, and Dartmouth and after our trips to their accepted students programs, a decision should be made. I think it will end up being a tough decision for her and she may wait until the last moment. There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal this week talking about how hard the college application process was this year and how some of the top schools were even harder to get into this year. They specifically mentioned Brown and Dartmouth which made it even more impressive that Casey was accepted to both of them. What a credit to all the hard work she did; and the fact that she did it all on her own. When I read about people who have done this and that for their kids (made their Pine Run Derby cars, reviewed their college essays, helped submit information for scholarships), I am even more impressed with her because she did it all herself. We did not read her college essays or approve her college applications. We did not make her take SAT prep courses. We did not set up additional college interviews for her. We let her take control and responsibility and she didn't let us down. I am glad that we let our kids be responsible for their grades, activities, etc. Too many parents make excuses for their kids and take on their kids problems and desires. We have always been a presence in the kids' lives, but we let them take responsibility once we feel they can handle it. I am so proud of both of them.