Saturday, March 2, 2019

Managing Senioritis

We have a major case of senioritis in my home. My oldest is a senior in college, my youngest is a senior in high school, and they are both so ready to move on.

So am I. After almost 18 years of parenting my children through the public school system and four years of public college, I am also ready to put it behind me. The past two decades have been great, and I think I was as involved as a parent could be. I'll miss some of it -- field trips were always a lot of fun, as were the band concerts, football, and volleyball games, science projects, and class parties. But my interest mirrors my kids' enthusiasm, so I am just going through the motions until graduation day.

I find I no longer read the eblasts from the high school that arrive in my inbox, and I'm allowing my youngest to write her own tardy notes, sign my name to field trip permission forms, or anything else she might need to turn in. Graduation is three months away but I've already checked out, and I know my children certainly have. My oldest spends time online looking at graduate programs, and my youngest is talking about decorating her dorm room and picking a college major.

How do you know if your child has senioritis? Symptoms vary from student to student, but typically they include:
  • Increased tardiness or cutting class
  • Incomplete assignments
  • A slip in grades
  • Almost constant socializing
  • Lack of motivation, laziness
  • Homework avoidance
  • Impatience with school teachers, administrators, coaches, parents
  • Fantasizing about summer, college, the beach
My affliction is slightly different than my children's. I no longer check my daughter's grades online and am way more concerned with finding scholarship opportunities than anything going on at the school. I'm also thinking about taking over my daughter's closet when she moves out -- maybe moving my winter clothes in there to make more space in my own overcrowded wardrobe.

I know any attempts to keep my kids motivated will likely fail, so I keep the nagging to a minimum reminding them that the finish line is within sight and wouldn't it be nice to finish strong? But I know this is all a done deal, and I suspect they can hear my own waning enthusiasm in the tone of my voice. As long as they keep their grades reasonably strong, and walk across the stage to accept their degree/diploma, I am satisfied.

A job well done, on all accounts. Let's see what happens next.

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