During our first camping trip this spring the lady camping next to us was loom knitting a stocking hat for a baby and she showed it to me. I’ve never learned the art of knitting but this looked like something I could possibly do. So I ordered a set of looms off of Amazon and headed to YouTube and easy peasy – stockings hats and baby booties and these little dolls for baby girl. I enjoy it but it’s not something I want to sit and do all the time but I can now make stocking hats for the little boys and baby girl when needed. They’ll make great Christmas presents this year.
On a different note – yesterday was rough. Rougher than I expected. We moved Eric to college. The move itself was wonderful. Everything went very smoothly and we had him moved in in less than an hour. Of course the fact that he would only let me make up his bed and do nothing else made things go a lot faster. Girls are so different than boys when it come to these things. Not only did we have a small load to move, he wanted to unpack and put everything away himself after we left so that didn’t leave much for mom to do! Moving Abby was a whole lot different!
After we had everything up to his room we left to run errands. We kept running into another family we had seen at the dorms. We saw them at the restaurant and at Walmart and the boys decided they would meet up later in the evening. He seemed nice and that made me feel better knowing Eric might have already made a friend in his dorm. We ate lunch at Hu Hot then onto Walmart for a fan, microwave, coffee pot, groceries and odds and ends. He shares a bedroom and study room with one other boy and they share a small kitchen and bathroom with two other boys. The kitchen has a refrigerator and stove but he wanted a microwave and coffee pot. His roommate is bringing a toaster and a TV so that seemed fair enough! Then we had to stop at the Hawk Shop to pick up his computer and then back to the dorm.
Eric’s roommate won’t be moving in until Thursday and they haven’t met yet. They have talked on social media. He’s from Chicago. The other two boys had moved in earlier but we never saw them. We did hear them in their room when we got back from shopping but they soon left without introducing themselves. Being a worry wart mom I immediately noticed when we first got in the dorm that it smelled like cigarette smoke. When I went into the kitchen I discovered an empty water bottle sitting on the table and it contained cigarette butts and the used cigarettes had been dropped on the floor down where the wall meets the floor. There is a gap there that doesn’t have a baseboard and I guess somebody thought that looked like a good place for used cigarettes. Along with that the kitchen window was wide open. I’m sure to try and get rid of the smoke. But – the air conditioning was on and although the bedroom was cool, the kitchen of course was not. I’m sure smoking is not allowed in the dorms but Eric wouldn’t let me go talk to the RA about the situation. He said he would wait until his roommate got there and they would work things out themselves. I get it. But I’m not happy with this situation. But, I’m sure everything will turn out fine. I don’t have a problem with them smoking. I do have a problem with them smoking in the dorm and leaving their mess in the kitchen like that. If just seemed rude to me.
Anyway, leaving him was harder than I thought it would be. No roommate, the neighbors just don’t seem friendly, he has no idea how to use the bus system, he doesn’t know anyone in his dorm . . . And yet he seemed fine. I’m just a worry wart! And then Drew was crying and refusing to put his seatbelt on because he thought that way we wouldn’t be able to leave Eric. I had to sit in the back with him and he cried himself to sleep. When we got home I texted Eric to let him know we stopped and picked up his car, which had been in the shop, and that it sounded great. The exhaust had needed some work along with the alternator. He said he was with Allie and they were at Target. I should have known. Allie is a friend and classmate from high school who also moved in yesterday only in a different dorm. Funny how much better it made me feel knowing they had hooked up already! And now I’m trying to stay busy and not worry and not text him. I will at some point today but I have to let him do what he needs to do without constant interruptions from mom!
For years Eric said he was going to Iowa State. All his clothes are red and gold. Grandma made him an Iowa State quilt. His bedroom is done up in Iowa State. Then, this past year he changed his mind and was going to UNI. Then, at the last minute he decided on Iowa. He applied and was accepted at all three but decided Iowa offered everything he wanted. I know he made the right decision but it’s still a little strange to think of him as an Iowa Hawkeye!