Skip to main content

We Survived Hell Week

By Pamela
Some time ago, I told you all that at the beginning of the school year, The Boy decided to pledge a fraternity.   The pledging process has been both a struggle and a blessing this semester. As a mom I have worried for hours concerned about his living situation, grades, partying, hazing, money and a rather large host of other things. From his perspective he has made some good friends and had a lot of support during this transition to college.


After a month home for Christmas break, The Boy returned back to college a week or so early so he could participate in Hell Week with his faternity. Never having been involved in Greek Life when I went to school, I am not sure exactly what Hell Week entails.  As a Mom, it does not sound like a thing you want your children participating in. Before he left I gave him my best Mom speech: 
"Son, you know I was a GDI (Gosh Darn Independent) in college and it worked well for me." 
"Son, you know you do not have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable." 
"Son, if they ask you to do something that you feel is not a good idea, it is okay to walk away."
"Son, I would rather you walk away and come home than not be able to walk away."

It is probably obvious to all of you that I have watched too many TV movies on Lifetime and that I need a psychiatrist. But in my defense, I am just a Mom who worries about her kids. 

He left a week ago. He promptly sent a text to his father and I and told us he would be completely unavailable by phone for a week and provided an emergency contact number. My heart sank to the bottom of my belly. Every night for this past week I have worried about him. I have missed hearing his voice. Every worst case scenario has run through my head: alcohol poisoning, broken bones, exposure, even branding crossed my mind!  Every single day all week long.


Then six days later, I woke to text message letting me know that he had made it. He called right after that and assured me he was very safe and extremely happy. He also told me never once was he physically hurt. He was initiated this past weekend into Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. 

I am  not sure as a Mom I can stop worrying. That just maybe in my genetic make up. I can be happy for him. He has already shown so much maturity that it melts my heart and gives me some strength to keep letting him go. He has shown commitment to something he wanted. He has advocated for himself, for others, and he even did some negotiating,  So yes, we both survived hell week. Now, he wears Greek letters across his chest and I am six pounds lighter from the stress diet I have been under!





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

By Pamela
I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i...
26 comments
Read more

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

By Pamela
Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget.  Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world.                                                In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things.  What is it? Well, it is a German food that is...
17 comments
Read more

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

By Pamela
The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil.  We had to immediately see an ENT  Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed.  We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy.  Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery vi...
1 comment
Read more