Had this sent to me a few weeks ago. Just found it again. It made me laugh and helped remind me to keep things in perspective.



Subject: Letter to Mom
>
>
>A mother passing by her daughter's bedroom was astonished to see the bed
>was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope
>propped up prominently on the center of the bed. It was addressed,
>"Mom".
>With the worst premonition, she opened the envelope and read the letter
>with trembling hands:



>
>Dear Mom,
>
>It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope
>with my new boyfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and
>you.
>I've been finding real passion with John and he is so nice-even with all
>his piercing, tattoos, beard, and his motorcycle clothes. But it's not
>only
>the passion mom, I'm pregnant and John said that we will be very happy.
>He
>already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the
>whole winter. He wants to have many more children with me and that's now
>one of my dreams too. John taught me that marijuana doesn' t really hurt
>anyone and we'll be growing it for us and trading it with his friends
>for
>all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that
>science will find a cure for AIDS so John can get better; he sure
>deserves
>it!!
>
>Don't worry Mom, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of
>myself. Some day I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know
>your grandchildren.
>
>Your daughter,
> Judith
>
>P.S. Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at the neighbor's house.
>I
>just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my
>report card that's in my desk center drawer. I love you! Call when it is
>safe for me to come home.


LOL
>

Sue
It was not a folk festival after all but the Fairport Convention one in Croperdy in Oxfordshire, Good fun yesterday but boy did it pour with rain all day....!

Letter to Mom
How brilliant! made me smile!!!

Yup we tend to forget all the good in our kids and only see the bad without realising it aint so bad.

I was upset the other day when viewing photos sent home by the group my daughter is travelling with - nearly everyone includes pictures of the pretty, skinny girls wearing itsy bitsy clothing and the odd one of my daughter covered up in frumpy cover-ups. I don't know who I hate more those lovely looking kids or me for not recognising that my daughter IS the most lovely looking (and allowing her to be overweight).
I've said it before being a rocket scientist/brain surgeon has got to be a far easier job than being a parent!
My admiration goes out to all rocket scientists/brain surgeons who are parents as well (with aging parents and a huge mortgage, oh and a broken boiler!!)

Emm, your daughter is young and is enjoying herself - it is easy to project our own emotions and thoughts onto others. She will be having a good time and will not be worrying about her weight - you must try not to as well. I have been in the position you are in - the aging parents was the worst thing of all (the guilt all the time). You will get through it - I did!
All the very best, thinking of you. Jeannie x

Oh Jeannie how sweet you are. I should be proud that my daughter's not self-harming, drinking, taking drugs and doesn't have anorexia which is so prevalent in her school. I don't suppose you came across any of that in your school?

And as for the folks? - the best thing is being 200 miles away, the worst is being 200 miles away!

Good luck to all the kids getting their AS/A level results on Thursday. I know the Scottish kids already have their Highers.

My middle child is waiting for results this week - needs an A in chemistry to get the university place he wants (I think it was Bs the rest of the offer) so fingers are well and truly crossed. Two of my three have self-harmed and it is terrible to know they are that distressed - but given that I also self-harmed as a teenager not a huge surprise that it happened.

Then my sympathy goes out to you Jean - there are so many pressures that these kids have to face nowadays.
Fingers/toes crossed for that A - is middle child going to study Chemistry? Which uni are you hoping for?

Yes he wants to study one particular field of Chemistry (not my forte!) at Sheffield. He is very bright but you never can tell how the exams will pan out - the marking sometimes seems to be a complete lottery. I can remember how devastated I was when I messed up my English A level and instead of getting the predicted A got an E and I didn't have a plan B. Fortunately the people I was working with during the holidays sorted me out and I went through clearing and got a place elsewhere (met husband, married had kids - there's a cautionary tale to encourage pupils to work hard) but it means I have encouraged son to think ahead as to what he will do if things don't go as planned.

One bit of advice a friend gave just before my son's A level results came out was to take with you to school on the day of the results your uni's tel. nos./course tutor's details/tutor's tel nos./details of similar alternative courses/email addresses etc. My son dropped a grade and using all the information gathered within a couple of hours he was on to a similar course at the uni he wanted to attend. Hopefully this will not be necessary in your case but you have to badger and beg the people at the uni (it shows that you are keen at least) - I was told by the time you get a list of courses in clearing the best have already gone.
Will be thinking of you on Thursday.

My daughter failed to get the results that she needed (to do chemical engineering) two years ago and spent the afternoon really worried that she would need to find a new course, but in fact Birmingham Uni had lowered their offer and she still got in. They do this the day before the results come out as they get them first, so its worth checking the UCAS sight before getting the results.

My son asked the original course director if he re-took the Alevel he dropped a grade in would they take him next year, the answer was they'd expect even higher in all the subjects. And this was at Birmingham U! As I said he still ended up there doing a course that has similar modules to his original choice.
My son loves Bham - the shopping, the uni, the fact it's close enough to home, oh and the course - how about your daughter Sue? Where is she living?

I'd say it's always worth making contact even if grades fall short of what specified. Enthusiasm and initiative count for a lot. Make a case of why still want to study, ask what options are available. If there was just one place available - who would you choose: the student who had made it clear really wanted a place and taken the trouble to make contact, or the one who kept quiet.

Picked up son's results this morning and he has gone down badly in all his subjects despite revising hard for them. It was lke reliving my own results day - I was in tears. had to text him the results as he's working in ambleside he already knew he hadn't got his place as he'd been on UCAS site. Unfortunately he hasn't got back to me so I'm worried about him. School wasn't terribly helpful compared to the one I work in just said he'd have to go to clearing no sugestion as to whether it would be worth asking for remark or resitting. Hoping he'll ring me - but have left messages on messenger, email etc.

Lord my heart goes out to you Jean - it's true when your kids hurt you hurt just as bad (if not more). When is your son home? What have you got to lose by asking for a remark? Did you speak with his intended uni?
So sorry, my stomach is genuinely turning over at the thought, we have all this to come on Thursday.

He's working the whole of the holiday in a youth hostel but we're going up to visit on Saturday. Have just had reply from exam officer at school I work in saying probably not worth going for remark but can request photocopy of papers (£10 a go) but deadline next Thursday. Might go for that as he thught he'd done well when he came out of the exams might help him to see what went wrong - might make things worse - don't know.

Jean, this probably isn't helpful right now, but I always believe that things happen for a reason. It maybe isn't apparent yet, but I'm sure that something will turn up that is right for your son, whether it's a different course or what, who knows. Hope he rings soon.

Jean
Sorry to hear what you are going through. We had this last year when my son wanted to go to Cardiff and didn't have the offer grades but he called the uni and they agreed to take him. He has passed all modules in Philosophy but one so has had to write an essay so fingers crossed he can continue into year 2 but he is very determined. Sometimes it is worth rethinking what course would be right. Hopefully if you son is working he is occupied more than you at the moment. Hope he speaks to you soon about it.

How did he do compared with predictions? Is he someone that persistently does poorer in exams than expected? Pity the school isn't more helpful. But if you can afford it, probably worth getting copies of the paper. As you say, might give him some idea where he went wrong. It's early days yet - he and you both need time to think things through. Plenty of time to talk on Sunday. And as Fiona says, sometimes these things happen for a reason. I'm a great believer in not trying to plan too much for the future - things always seem to work out right in the end. One avenue may close but others always open.

Thanks Pippa and Jackie, still haven't heard from him but he doesn't have very good mobile reception up there so may be waiting til he gets back to the hostel.

I've just read this Jean. It is the worst thing to go through, but remember that whatever his grades there will be a college course for him somewhere and (I know from experience) that the second place can turn out to be fantastic. Further education is much more accessible than in our day. Even if he has some time out there will be time to get back in.

There is of course much more to life than qualifications (although it might seem hard to see that right now). My second son was excluded from sixth form after his disastrous AS results (the rather useless school omitted to let us know that he had been excluded!). This was an awful time, but he has rarely been out of work, even though he is currently doing barwork. I'd rather that than he lay around at university doing nothing. And he has every intention of doing an open university course one day.

The fact that your son is working (and in a youth hostel) is really positive.

Best of luck to you both

I agree with Sue about your son working and as you say uni is not for everyone unless they want it. You can get much more out of it if you are a bit older. On my course as it was a poly now a uni there were loads of mature students who had a really different take on the course. Anyway hope that you get back in touch with each other.

Thank you all you lovely people for the support son has finally just sent me an email to let me know he's ok and has looked at clearing but can't do a lot until he gets his clearing passport. He's been talking to some students he's working with who seem to have given him some good advice and support so that's a relief hubby is due back from Scotland some time in the early hours so I'm going to have to go to Tesco and get some bread etc before he arrives.

Glad he has got in touch and has had support where he is working. I went through clearing to Cambridge Poly now Anglia University and had a great time! and got my degree this was with a D & E for A levels this was back in 1980. So good luck to him! and to you!

Another exam crisis. Exam results out tomorrow and my daughter has lost the pin number that she was issued with in order to access them on the internet. The world is about to end.

From what time can you access results online - we have the pin but not the will!
Good luck to all expecting exam results.

Sue did your daughter find the pin or did she have to wait til today - how did she do? Thinking of you both - fingers crossed.

Thanks - we did not find the pin so had to go into school. Results were stunning - for us. We can't decide what was best the A* in maths or the C in French! Anyway , enough to get into sixth form and do the A levels she wanted to do. How is your son Jean?

I've decided my daughter is not going back to school I can't stand another round of waiting for results. The last 24 hours have been an emotional roller coaster which has left me totally exhausted* and daughter clubbing in London!!

*In actual fact I feel rather low and can only put this down to being overly tired, or am I worried about the next round of pressure on the girl? Does this sound familiar to anyone?