It's That College Time of Year

We really need to get better at this.  "We" being my husband and me;  "this" being responding to acceptances to college.  It should be easy, right?  "Wow, you got in!  That's great!  Congratulations!"  It seems so easy.  But in our house, like everything else, it doesn't seem to go the way one would expect.

First, you'd think that since our boy who is applying is our third child, we'd have had some significant practice.  

Nope.

Child #1 only sort-of applied, and to only one school, very late, and it was a school that pretty much accepted anyone who was graduating from high school.  So, there wasn't much practice there.

Child #2 applied for real, and we were very happy with his acceptance, but he applied to only one school, and when he got his acceptance, decided he wasn't going to bother with any more applications.

So on to Child #3.  One day, he got an envelope from a school we knew he was planning to apply to.  "Did you tell them you wanted more information?"  "Not exactly."  He opens the envelope, waves a folder that says "Congratulations," and says, "I guess I got in."  "Wait, wait, did you apply there?"  "Yes."  "When?"  "About two weeks ago."  "Um, you never mentioned it.  Well, congratulations!!!"

Sigh.  OK.  Not exactly how the first acceptance is supposed to go, but it's going to get better, right?  Wrong.

"I just got an email congratulating me on being accepted to X University."  

"Was it an acceptance email, or was it an email that assumed you'd already gotten a letter?"

"It assumed I'd gotten a letter."

"Well, congratulations, assuming you've been accepted!"

"Thanks.  I guess."

He looks almost as confused as I feel.


"Um, didn't you just apply there two days ago?"  I know, that's not  appropriate, but how can someone get accepted in two days? I mean, really!

Well, no, he says, it's been a bit longer than that.  Maybe a week.  

I realize I'm old, but a week?

He has a few more applications out.  I'm hoping that he gets some acceptances the old-fashioned way - the thick envelope in the mail, when we already know he applied.  

But of course, this is the good stuff, and I am totally not complaining!  Maybe he'll get the thick envelope in the mail today!