Katie goes to college!

Tuesday, August 18, was a "red letter day" for Katie. She was
leaving for college. She and her dad worked hard to get all her "stuff" into the car. I thought that since she was going to be living in a dorm that she wouldn't have too much to pack. Not so if you just look at all the boxes in the car.


Once the car was packed, Bill had to fasten Katie's bicycle on a rack on the back of the car. She wouldn't be driving her car to Charleston. Freshmen cannot have a car on campus; thus the new beach bike! Upperclassmen find the parking rates very expensive so cars are not "must have" items on campus.



Katie applied for a 3-day Preview of Charleston, something they started last year to acquaint newcomers to Charleston life before school begins. After arriving at 6 pm (crazy time to check in time the dorm), we realized that Bill was very smart to sign her up for Preview. There's no place to park on the narrow streets of historic Charleston, where the College of Charleston is located. We unloaded her boxes on the sidewalk and then Bill had to take the car to a public parking lot, where we had already parked our car, not far from the dorm.


Volunteer students helped to cart her belongings up to the 4th floor to her new home, which she shares with 3 other girls in the Coed Dorm. We walked into the dorm and I could not imagine how 2 girls could live in such a tiny space, with one bathroom to be shared with 2 other suite mates on the other side of the bathroom.
She decided to move her bed up high so she could put her desk and chests, etc. underneath the bed. I hope she will ask for a ladder. We left her there feeling very uncomfortable about the way she chose to get into her bed!


Bill had ordered her a futon which we picked up at WalMart at Charleston. A church friend and mother of one of Caroline's friends volunteered her son, a Jr at the college who has a truck, to help get the futon from WalMart to the dorm. Then Caroline and I put it together while Jim, Bill and Katie worked on moving furniture around, emptying boxes, etc. Bill had to buy extra cable wire to hook up the small TV in the sitting area, another cable for the computer to be located in her bedroom and not in the sitting area, and stuff like that.


Around 9 pm we all began to get hungry, and were very tired, and walked a couple of blocks to Mellow Mushroom and I never had such good pizza. We were all starving!


After eating, we walked to the parking lot to get our car, and Caroline, Jim and I left to go back to Florence, SC. Bill stayed an extra 30 minutes to make sure Katie's laptop computer was hooked up properly with a wireless connection.


We all got back to Florence around midnight - tired but happy and pleased that we left Katie in a very happy mood. We tried not to cry when we drove off, leaving her behind. I think everybody wiped a few tears. Here you see Katie giving Caroline a good-bye kiss before leaving. Also notice the red pillows Caroline and I made for Katie's dorm.


The next day, Wednesday, was Caroline's first day back at school and she is in the 8th grade this year. We had our picture made with her in her school uniform. We left to come back home after she left for school with her dad.


Sunday was a special day and a special meal as we celebrated Nerissa and Katie going away to school. After lunch Sunday, we helped Nerissa, a Jr. nursing student at Clemson, get her belongings in her car to head back to Clemson. She and her roommate Megan had to enlist the help of Paine, Nerissa's friend, to drive his car and take their extra things that they couldn't get in their cars! Clemson is about 3 hrs in the opposite direction from Charleston.


We are so pleased to be a part of our granddaughter's personal lives. We have enjoyed watching them grow up into "Little Women" .....before we know it they will all be graduating from college and out on their own. 


The two granddaughters in Austin, TX are seniors in college and Liz will graduate in Dec. but plans to go to Graduate School, the Allison will graduate next year.


It will be 5 more years before the youngest, Caroline, starts to college, and we will be turning 80 that year. I wonder if we will be able to help her move into her dorm. We'll just have to wait and see (and keep exercising and keeping in condition for the big day!)