Back in August, I reported to you all how my wife, daughter, and I had dropped off our son Christian for freshman orientation at the University of Rochester. Hard to believe that six weeks have gone by, and it was time for his mother and I to head up and visit him at school for Parents Weekend.
We left the Jersey Shore around 7:30 Thursday morning to begin the seven hour ride up to Rochester. We had nice weather all the way up, so the ride was enjoyable and relaxing.
We got to our hotel in the neighboring town of Henrietta at around 2:30PM, unpacked, watched some TV in the room, and then got back in the car for the 10 minute ride to Rochester. We had made arrangements to meet him in the commons area around 6PM right after his last class.
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He strolled up to our table and shot us that big smile of his. He looked fantastic! It looked like he had lost some weight, and he told us he began to take up working out in the gym after classes. First stop after some small talk. . .the local Buffalo Wild Wings back in Henrietta, his favorite restaurant.
The next day, we drove back to the college to take a guided tour of The Ronald Rettner Hall for Media Arts & Innovation. Built at a cost of $12.8 million, it is the newest building on the campus and the main building where a majority of his major’s classes would be held. The building was filled with Macintosh computers, 3-D printers, and all of the latest in high tech media equipment. Christian would be studying in that building using the latest and greatest digital gear.
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Afterwards, we hit the college store for some U of R shirts, hats, and other paraphernalia. After lunch in the commons area snack bar, we headed back into town and did the Wal Mart and Target runs for items that he needed for his dorm room, along with snacks and bottles of water.
On Saturday, while Christian went off to a study group with friends, my wife and I took a bus trip to the Eastman Campus to take in the keynote address for the weekend. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave a great presentation, talking about his over-40 years of service in the Federal Government.
Considering I was on furlough from the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time, his speech was a wake-up call to politicians everywhere that compromise was key to getting things done.
Afterwards, we met Christian back on campus and had dinner with him at Romano’s Macaroni Grille in Henrietta. We dropped him off at his dorm and told him we were looking forward to seeing him right around Thanksgiving. . .only five weeks or so away.
All the while, I noticed how happy and excited he was to be there. . .a far cry from when we dropped him off. Back then, he was a little hesitant about sticking around and questioned whether he had made the right decision to go there. It’s a small wonder what six weeks on your own can do to your disposition.
Yes, our little boy who always had a smile on his face was still smiling after all these years, but this time around, as our proud young man.
(The entire Jersey Shore Retro Blogography can be found at http://longbranch.patch.com/blogs/kevin-cieris-blog .You can also follow Kevin Cieri's blog on his Facebook page, "Jersey Shore Retro" as well as on Twitter @jsretro).
