Well, who knows at this point

Decision deadline is Sunday. It would be ironic if after all this time and effort he accidentally forgets to send in the acceptance form and ends up not going to college at all.

Not gonna smile about it for fear of jinxing it.

We're down to two, including Trinity, which we toured this weekend (Samuel for the second time).

We encouraged him to narrow down his four choices via NCAA bracket methodology. Last night was the semifinals. (He chose the same two for the finals that I would've chosen for him, for what it's worth.)

The finals will occur sometime between now and Sunday. I don't care which he chooses. He's a sweet boy.

Stand by.

This is why you read this blog

Trivia tidbit: The actor who did the voice of Jet Screamer on "The Jetsons" is the same guy who played Ernest T. Bass on "The Andy Griffith Show."

How cool is that?

A good review?

Who knows?

Weekend college tour

No--no decision yet. But Samuel has four great choices, including Union College, which we visited today.

Beautiful campus, nice people, and I can't believe Samuel will be away at college in five months. Whimper.

I only took photos of Samuel today, because I'm going to miss his sweet smile when I come home from work every night. I want to clone him so that he can get on with his life but I can still have him with me.

I said to Ethan, "It's going to be kind of sad when Samuel leaves."

Ethan said, "I'm kind of looking forward to having my own room."

What's done is done

Samuel had to decline the admission offer to his original top college choice due to lack of financial aid.

So we feel bad.

We feel like bad parents who didn't think far enough ahead to set aside $250K for each of our kids. 

We feel angry at the school, which we liked so much on the day Samuel got accepted, and which we kept trying very hard to like afterwards. We were willing to stretch beyond reason to make it happen. They didn't have to do much to close the deal.

But they didn't. 

We feel bad about feeling bad about it. We make too much money to get financial aid from a private school, but too little to actually pay for it. Poor us. That's why they have this new concept, called "state schools." Get over it.

Mostly we feel bad for Samuel. He's worked hard and put a lot of effort into the process, and getting the acceptance letter was such a big celebration for all of us. He did his part. 

Fortunately, Samuel applied to six other schools after getting the initial financial aid notice. 

He got accepted to five, with partial scholarships to four. They're all good schools. It will all work out.

Samuel will go to college. We will go deeper into debt. But not a quarter million dollars in debt. And ppllltttt to the college that shall go unnamed.

Kindergarten visit

The poll: Which book did you like more?
My Grandma's a Ninja: 10
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!: 3 

Questions for the author:
1. How did you get the idea for the book?
2. Is your grandma a ninja?
3. How many books have you made?
4. Is it for Sam? 
5. What is your favorite book that you wrote?
6. Are you Christian, Jewish, or something else?

This is the atrium that I pass through every day on my way to and from work. Toddlers love to walk up and down the marble steps. They plod to the top, pause, turn around, smile at the world, then plod back down.

Up and down.

Up and down.

I don't know what it means. I just know that it's my favorite part of every day.