Empty nest or not, once a parent...
So what's new with the chicks? My oldest fledgling is working hard on getting a pair of functional wings. Dental school has proven to be a lot of hard work and dedication. Rach is now happily approaching the end of the second semester of her second year, which has the reputation of being the worst semester of the entire four year program. She shared her schedule with me today; it consists of solid tests until the end of the semester. She has begun clinical work, and from her blog (or lack thereof) you can see that her parents have kept her busy by becoming her first patients. Like Mom always said, "What goes around comes around!" Translation in this case, "You brush my teeth, and someday I'll brush yours!" March 19 was her first solo on a patient she wasn't related to. She found two cavities, and has done her first restorations. Such a job is known around the dental school as a "drill and fill." Just before finals week, she is moving to a new apartment; her roommates are graduating. (Pray that she gets her school loans next year to pay the rent--the recent economic crisis is hitting students pretty hard!) She is looking forward to the summer session because she gets out early everyday -- 4PM!
Dan will graduate college May 10 and has decided to go to graduate school in optics. He has been accepted at Uof R Institute of Optics, U of AZ College of Optical Science, and UCF College of Optics and Photonics, the three optics programs in the US. He has officially accepted the offer from Rochester. (One by one, we are heading back east!) Founded in 1929, the Institute of Optics became the first program exclusively devoted to optics in the US. He is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of this program and has a lot of work to do in the next four or five years. I can see those wing muscles starting to develop!
The youngest of the brood is almost done with year one of college. Presently, Kate is majoring in English and Biochemistry, with minors in Mathematics and Chemistry. In other words, she is keeping all doors wide open. She recently applied to the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at UNL (keep your fingers crossed). Johnny Carson graduated from UNL in 1949. In 2004, he gave over $5 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Department of Theatre Arts of UNL's Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. After he died, his estate donated another $5 million. Kate has a passion for film; if accepted, her plan is to try to do a film and new media major with a Biochemistry major on the side, keeping her minors in Math and Chemistry and adding a minor in English. All this, of course, is subject to change! Her wings may take a bit of time to develop; she tends to bite off more worms than she can swallow, but that is definitely part of her charm.
5 comments:
Your fledglings are amazing (and cute, too!) What's UCF? Tell Kate to add a few more majors and minors. She's going too easy on herself.
University of Central Florida; seems all the optics schools are in the south except Rochester, of course. There is no telling Kate what to do; you should realize that by now!
I don't eat worms Mum. Animal cruelty. Wings huh? Intriguing.
Kate, you always make me smile. Start blogging! You have my permission to drop a major or minor or three.
What is this word "drop?" Looks about. Ponders. I told Mum that if I were to create a blog it would be entitled "Mintasmagoria" and she looked at me quizzically and then lightly informed me that no one would comprehend my intentions...
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