The Kassel Family Project Life 365

We moved Laura from her double room to a single room today. This is before we moved all of her things.

The move only took about two hours from start to finish including unpacking, and it made such a huge difference for her! She was happy and excited, and the single biggest hurdle to her settling in at SEMO has been removed.

We do have a small list of things to get like a larger area rug, but it was so great to see Laura with no anxiety for the first time. She sent us off to Columbia with big hugs and a smile. When we were leaving, Andy told her that it was his turn to be sad, and she said, “Dad, you know you can just call me.” There were no signs of homesickness at all. Our mission is accomplished. Let her college experience really begin!

It is a somewhat long story, but Andy and I are back in Cape Girardeau at the Drury Plaza Hotel for the night to help Laura move to a new dorm room tomorrow.

If I could have chosen what her first two weeks of the college experience would have been like, these would not have been it.

First, SEMO Marching Band turned out to be very overwhelming for her. College marching band is truly the next level, and it is a lot to take in the beginning. However, Laura fought through the first few days of band camp with support from her section mates, and she is ALL IN now. I got the pleasure of saying, “I told you so”, but the first few days were really touch and go for her.

Second, Laura came out one morning to find her bike gone. Some jerk stole it, and she called Andy in a panic. He talked her through what to do, and she handled it well. A police report was filed, and we are hoping that it gets recovered. If not, we will buy a new bike, but I suspect the new bike will stay safely in our garage in Columbia.

Finally, her roommate situation was not good. At first, Andy and I thought Laura might have been overreacting, but it did not take us long to realize after we met her roommate that she was not. Bolstered by support from marching band friends and us, she talked to her Resident Assistant. From there, things moved quickly, and she moves to a single room tomorrow.

It has been a roller coaster the last two weeks for her and us, but she is relaxed and happy now. She is loving marching band and enjoying her classes. This room change should be the last hurdle.

What I am most relieved about is that she has marching band friends who supported her even though they literally met her two weeks ago. Also, I am grateful to her RA who listened to her and jumped into action. Here is to a smooth move tomorrow, but also to a happy Laura. Now, her college experience can really begin…

When you forget to take the first day of school picture at your house, you snag one in the car at drop off. It is John’s first day of Junior year. Have a great day, Dude!

It is the first time that I haven’t taken Laura’s first day of school picture. However, she did take a minute to take and send me a picture, so I would have one from today. I hope your first day of college classes goes well, Kid!

We visited Laura to take a small load of things to her, including her laptop. After we had everything unpacked and put away, we took a walk around the campus to find the buildings where Laura will have classes. It was my first time seeing the campus, and I really liked the atmosphere. I think the last piece of the puzzle is working out her roommate situation. Once there is resolution to that, I think she is really going to love SEMO.