Parents of the Class of 2019

[Eureka]

He got the Georgetown letter today and did not get in. Not unexpected but still I'm bummed he's bummed. The letter said they had over 23,000 applicants for a class of 1,600 and only offered 14% of applicants a spot. But now he's heard from everywhere so we can move along in the process.

 

[laughinplace199]

He got the Georgetown letter today and did not get in. Not unexpected but still I'm bummed he's bummed. The letter said they had over 23,000 applicants for a class of 1,600 and only offered 14% of applicants a spot. But now he's heard from everywhere so we can move along in the process.

Sorry it wasn't better news. We are expecting the same letter tomorrow. I'm ready to move on and have DS really look at his choices and start narrowing things down.

 

[McKelly]

So, my DS has informed me that he does NOT want a graduation party. What? Do I just respect his wishes and leave it at that? Go out to dinner with just immediate family? I waited a couple days and asked him again, and he said, "He doesn't understand why everybody makes a big deal out of it - it's expected of everybody. It's not a big achievement." Well, maybe not for him but.......getting him this far with that attitude was quite an achievement for his parents!!
Anybody else's child balking at a party? He's very introverted, so I guess this should not be a surprise.

 

[Eureka]

So, my DS has informed me that he does NOT want a graduation party. What? Do I just respect his wishes and leave it at that? Go out to dinner with just immediate family? I waited a couple days and asked him again, and he said, "He doesn't understand why everybody makes a big deal out of it - it's expected of everybody. It's not a big achievement." Well, maybe not for him but.......getting him this far with that attitude was quite an achievement for his parents!!
Anybody else's child balking at a party? He's very introverted, so I guess this should not be a surprise.

My DS wants a small party of 10-15 of his friends, none of our friends. I decided to just go with it. It’s his day (we won’t be having the party until the next weekend) and we’re having a bunch of family in town for the graduation. It would have been fun to have a bigger party but that’s just not his personality. I am ordering a fancy cake though for when family are here. This woman does beautiful cakes like works of art. DS doesn’t care about that (though he’ll happily eat it) and said I am doing it for me. Well, yes I am but like you said, it’s an achievement for everyone.

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd and her bff are throwing themselves a graduation party at her friends house, just kids. We don’t have a lot of local family, and our high school does project graduation that night. I don’t remember doing anything for high school graduation for my older kids. People do have graduation parties, but it’s not as over the top as formal, prom or sweet 16’s.

 

[bigbabyblues]

So, my DS has informed me that he does NOT want a graduation party. What? Do I just respect his wishes and leave it at that? Go out to dinner with just immediate family? I waited a couple days and asked him again, and he said, "He doesn't understand why everybody makes a big deal out of it - it's expected of everybody. It's not a big achievement." Well, maybe not for him but.......getting him this far with that attitude was quite an achievement for his parents!!
Anybody else's child balking at a party? He's very introverted, so I guess this should not be a surprise.

My DS didn't want a party either because he doesn't like to be the center of attention. He thought about it for a week or so and then said a party would be okay if it wasn't fancy, if it was before graduation, and we had it at MIL's house. He also wants to have 3 of his friends over after graduation to play video games all night, which is fine. We are doing a very simple open house at MIL's house the Saturday before graduation with his favorite foods and no cake, because he doesn't like cake.

 

[TB'sWidow]

My Dd said she would rather go on a trip than to have a party. So we are going to Disney with 6 of her friends and two other moms tagging along. My sister is also taking her on her first cruise.

 

[PollyannaMom]

So, my DS has informed me that he does NOT want a graduation party. What? Do I just respect his wishes and leave it at that? Go out to dinner with just immediate family? I waited a couple days and asked him again, and he said, "He doesn't understand why everybody makes a big deal out of it - it's expected of everybody. It's not a big achievement." Well, maybe not for him but.......getting him this far with that attitude was quite an achievement for his parents!!
Anybody else's child balking at a party? He's very introverted, so I guess this should not be a surprise.

I hear you - mine didn't even want to go to graduation itself! (We found this out when he almost missed the deadline to order his cap and gown. ) We had a long "discussion" over the fact that there were many adults in his life who had supported him along the way and they deserved to see him get his diploma, so he finally agreed that he'll go.

I don't know what he wants as far as a small party or dinner, though. - That's on what I call the "secretarial list" - things to do with him or ask him during one of those golden moments when he isn't stressed out, on his way out the door, or wishing he was playing video games instead.

He is doing a big school trip (Iceland, with EF Tours) but it isn't until a couple weeks after graduation.

 

[Flowerem]

So, my DS has informed me that he does NOT want a graduation party. What? Do I just respect his wishes and leave it at that? Go out to dinner with just immediate family? I waited a couple days and asked him again, and he said, "He doesn't understand why everybody makes a big deal out of it - it's expected of everybody. It's not a big achievement." Well, maybe not for him but.......getting him this far with that attitude was quite an achievement for his parents!!
Anybody else's child balking at a party? He's very introverted, so I guess this should not be a surprise.

I’ve been told almost the same thing by my graduating twins who are also introverted. They don’t see graduation as a big deal and don’t see why we would want a party.

My kids are also moving to their college city two weeks after graduation and don’t want any send off or party for that either.

It’s ok with me. Their 18th birthday is in one month and I’m celebrating that with a big party as an alternate.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS was waitlisted at Georgetown. He wasn't even expecting to get that far, so he's ok with it. Last year, no one made it off the waitlist, so he knows not to get his hopes up.

He also doesn't want a graduation party. We'll go to dinner after graduation and we're doing a Disney/Universal trip this summer to celebrate.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

No plans for a party for DD.

 

[Eureka]

DS was waitlisted at Georgetown. He wasn't even expecting to get that far, so he's ok with it. Last year, no one made it off the waitlist, so he knows not to get his hopes up.

He also doesn't want a graduation party. We'll go to dinner after graduation and we're doing a Disney/Universal trip this summer to celebrate.

That’s awesome, congrats. I know it’s not the same as getting in, but they liked him.

 

[wishesuponastar]

DD never asked for a party but we gave one to her sister so I’m sure she thought we would give her one. About 30 people at our clubhouse. Mostly family with maybe 3 of her friends if they aren’t busy with their own parties that weekend right after graduation.

 

[design_mom]

My son has said he doesn't want a graduation party either. I'm trying to figure out what to do instead (grandparents, aunts, and uncles will be coming to the graduation ceremony), so I kind of feel like I need to do *something* for them. If it's a dinner out, I need to book someplace. If it's something at home, i need to figure out when/what. He's said that something for just the people who are attending is acceptable (and that's 16 people, I think)... so not as small as I think he'd prefer. I think he'd rather do "just the 4 of us" but I'm not quite sure how I can tell the grandparents they're not invited.

 

[portocall]

No graduation party here either. I am okay with that as we will be moving less than a week later. I think we are going to celebrate by going out to dinner. My youngest will he promoted to high school from 8th grade so we will celebrate both of them at one time. I am introverted so I don't like parties either so I am way cool with this.

As a student I went to 8 different school and my husband went to 6. We are celebrating successfully getting two of our three through high school only attending 2ish school in their life. That was important to us. Hoping we can do the same for our last. The ish is for the six weeks they spent in a school in a different state right after Hurricane Katrina.

 

[lovesdumbo]

My DS too has been saying all along no party for his graduation and nothing for earning Eagle Scout. He does however wants to attend graduation even though it will make him a few days late yo his summer job as a trek guide at a Boy Scout high adventure base in Alaska. He will fly out the day after graduation.

 

[mom2rtk]

No party here either. We'll attend the ceremony then head to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa.

 

[Eureka]

DS had a great time at the prom, we got some really good pictures and I was relieved the driving went fine especially since he got home at 1:30 am (venue was 45 min away, needed to take a busy highway he hasn’t driven much).

Today we put down the enrollment deposit and he has officially committed to the University of Maryland to study government and politics. His best friend just told him last night he decided on UMd too, he’ll be in engineering and they likely won’t be in the same dorm (friend got into the honors college and DS will be in a living and learning community) but nice that they can find each other when they want to.

Next up is waiting for financial aid/scholarship information and filling out the housing and dining agreement. We need to sit down and look at that together and I am traveling for work this week, so we’ll do it when I get back. Really excited for him (and us) that now we have a plan that is not nearly as abstract anymore. And the school is 45 min to an hour away from home, which makes me happy.

 

[Colleen27]

So DD has decided, USF it is! I had a feeling it was going to go that way, and we've had some tough talks about money in making the decision. I do think she's making the right choice and she understands that we'll handle the lion's share of loan repayment as long as she continues to do well (and I have all the confidence in the world that she will; she's the go-getter of my bunch) so that she can still go into grad school without undergrad loans hanging over her head. I've started working on the road trip itinerary that will be both senior trip and dorm move-in, but I can't get anything nailed down to start booking until we know if she's going to be serving as a welcome ambassador in Seattle at the end of July. I kind of hope she doesn't get it because it would make the trip easier, but it is a cool opportunity so I didn't discourage her from applying. Either way, it is going to be one epic trip - 4 or 5 weeks on the road, 15-17 states, and of course, a few days at DLR.

I didn't really give her a choice about a graduation party, not that she'd have objected. The family dynamics on DH's side of the family are such that she knows these things mean a lot to MIL (our kids are the only ones who live close enough for MIL to be part of the planning/hosting, which she loves to do, and she and DD17 are particularly close). So while she didn't really care one way or the other about it, she's fine with having a party to humor the family. We're keeping it pretty low-key - outdoors in a nice local park, catered by a local BBQ joint - but it is an excuse to get the family together and she's planning to invite her softball teammates and some school friends as well. And it'll give her/us a chance to celebrate with people who won't be able to make it to the graduation mass, like her godparents who are both teachers and can't make a Sunday afternoon service, 4 hours from home, during the school year.

She leaves in two weeks for the senior trip to Gatlinburg and then we have a week and a half off for spring break, so there are only something like 12 days of school in April for the seniors. Then two weeks in May and they're done.

 

[mom2rtk]

So DD has decided, USF it is! I had a feeling it was going to go that way, and we've had some tough talks about money in making the decision. I do think she's making the right choice and she understands that we'll handle the lion's share of loan repayment as long as she continues to do well (and I have all the confidence in the world that she will; she's the go-getter of my bunch) so that she can still go into grad school without undergrad loans hanging over her head. I've started working on the road trip itinerary that will be both senior trip and dorm move-in, but I can't get anything nailed down to start booking until we know if she's going to be serving as a welcome ambassador in Seattle at the end of July. I kind of hope she doesn't get it because it would make the trip easier, but it is a cool opportunity so I didn't discourage her from applying. Either way, it is going to be one epic trip - 4 or 5 weeks on the road, 15-17 states, and of course, a few days at DLR.

I didn't really give her a choice about a graduation party, not that she'd have objected. The family dynamics on DH's side of the family are such that she knows these things mean a lot to MIL (our kids are the only ones who live close enough for MIL to be part of the planning/hosting, which she loves to do, and she and DD17 are particularly close). So while she didn't really care one way or the other about it, she's fine with having a party to humor the family. We're keeping it pretty low-key - outdoors in a nice local park, catered by a local BBQ joint - but it is an excuse to get the family together and she's planning to invite her softball teammates and some school friends as well. And it'll give her/us a chance to celebrate with people who won't be able to make it to the graduation mass, like her godparents who are both teachers and can't make a Sunday afternoon service, 4 hours from home, during the school year.

She leaves in two weeks for the senior trip to Gatlinburg and then we have a week and a half off for spring break, so there are only something like 12 days of school in April for the seniors. Then two weeks in May and they're done.

Congrats on her decision!