Thoughts on College, 1st edition

Somehow Stefanie has grown old enough to go to college. I think she is ready. But am I? It helps that she was away all summer and I have kind of gotten used to her not being around. But I really missed her. I hope she blogs while she is away. It is not like she is going half way around the world either - her school is less than 100 miles away. (I have to be vague in case there are any stalkers viewing my blog).

I remember going away to college, ahem, 30 years ago this month. As we were frantically shopping Saturday morning she asked me what I brought to college. Besides my clothes, I remember only bringing a dictionary, a hotpot, my record player and sheets. The record player is looooong gone. The hotpot (intended only for boiling water) was, shall we say, sacrificed to a desperate attempt to make popcorn when no popcorn popper could be found.

I do still have my dictionary

and I believe these are my sheets...and they were not new when I took them to college. Is it possible these sheets are like 35 years old?!

These pillow cases remind me of college so they may be 30 years old. My room mate, Nancy, can confirm if these were part of our coordinated set of matching bedspreads (kelly green - freshman year), curtains (cleverly crafted using only scissors and safety pins from flat sheets).

I went to the same college as my Mother, just many years later. When my Mom went to school she had to bring her own napkin ring and cloth napkins. Things had changed a lot between then and when I went. And they have changed a lot since my school years and now.

Back then, eveyrone lived in a dorm room with at least 1 roommate. There was a shared bathroom down the hall, a communal shower, perhaps a kitchen down the hall (in the upperclass dorms), a single TV (network stations only, cable hadn't been invented yet) on each floor and a dining hall about 5 blocks away. Freshman roommates had to coordinate what each would bring by snail mail!

Communication is so much easier today, but there is so much more to consider. Steffi and her room mate have emailed and phoned each other and agreed what each would bring for their shared living room, kitchen and bathroom.


Hence, all of THIS


needs to be transported and hauled into her apartment.


There are many things available now to make a student's room more usable. How cool are these?! Bed risers that allow you to raise the height of the bed so you can use the underneath for storage!


Our mattresses were about 3 inches thick and who knows how many years old. They hadn't invented anything to make a college mattress more comfortable "in my day." Now there are all sorts of options. Meg passed on the secret to the most comfortable bed - egg crate (the pink thing) covered with a mattress topper (not pictured) both held snuggly to the mattress with a mattress pad (the white thing - a bargain at $4.99 at L&T) and then with a sheet as the final layer. She has promised that Steffi will sleep like a baby on this and everyone will be envious.
And she has an adorable sheet and comforter set. Because she has a separate room from her room mate, there is no need to try to color-coordinate and she can have what she wishes.

Her colors are pink and brown. Here is her brown husband. Mine was light blue and quickly became dingy which is why I encouraged brown instead of pink for her.

Here are her colorful hangers. Mine were of the wire-variety.

Seeing as she will be in an apartment and not a dorm we must stock a full kitchen between us and her room-mates family. Check out this very cool blender ($24.95) with a dispenser for making healthy smoothies

And these glasses - which I am not kidding were $9.99 at the HEB. I don't think I could have done much better at a thrift shop!

Buried in the pile of stuff on the dining room table are also a toaster oven, coffee maker, laundry hamper, trash can, i-home clock radio, 2 new pillows, overdoor storage, cleaning supplies, a drying rack and a plunger. And I know this is not the end.

So there you have it, the next chapter of Steffi's life is about to begin. I did it, her grandmother did it and now it is her turn.

Wait.

I am NOT ready yet!