JOIN BOSSY'S OLD SCHOOL BLOG ROLL!

i am bossy

Here’s Something You Probably Didn’t Know! Bossy Has A Son! And He Just Went Off To College!

Hello one person left who still wants to hear all about Bossy’s son and his
drop-off at Columbia University! Because—let’s face it—even Bossy is all, “Again? Hasn’t that kid graduated from fooking college already?”

Well. Here’s the long and the short of it, where the short of it is also long.

Bossy and her husband and her son were in the car by 5 a.m. this past Monday to avoid bridge and tunnel traffic:

holland-tunnel

The street in front of the dorm building was closed to traffic to allow the families to unload into large cardboard containers:

cartons

These cardboard containers were on wheels and, once full, needed to be pushed down the street and into a holding area. A dazed Bossy trailed behind her assigned carton trying to muster what the scene reminded her of—and suddenly she had it: the carton reminded her of the infant bassinet where—
18 years earlier—Bossy stored her newborn son, wheeling him up and down the hospital corridor.

cartons2

Next Bossy and her son pushed the cartons into the dorm building elevator, anticipating their first glimpse of what will be Bossy’s son’s home for the next ten months:

cell-block

After Bossy and her son stopped laughing, they decided to rearrange a few pieces of furniture to better facilitate two distinctly different roommate sections, and to allow more room for partying studying.

after-shuffling

After Bossy’s husband took a yearlong expedition to Jupiter parked the car, the threesome caught a subway to a discount bedding store to purchase
an apartment without cinderblock walls an area rug.

AREA-RUG

With the rug purchased, they returned to the dorm to find Bossy’s son’s roommate—and the two men worked quickly to unpack their speakers and more speakers books.

room-after

And then Bossy and her husband accompanied Bossy’s son down the elevator and out into the quad, where they said their goodbyes before Bossy’s son disappeared into this exact diverse and happy crowd:

crowd

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. awwww, bossy feels empty and sad! lean on your faithful readers, bossy!

    I was hoping you would post about taking son to college…and yes, it DOES look like a cell block!

    how do bossy’s husband and daughter feel about son being gone?

    Reply

  2. Walls completely covered in posters and “found” art in 3…2…1…

    Oddly enough, THAT was the post that got me a little weepy. And I don’t even have kids.

    But. You laughed at the room? Were you expecting warm wood paneling or a sporty wallpaper print? Hello? Freshman dorm! Looks pretty damn nice to me, all things considered.

    Reply

  3. That dorm room is at least 3X larger than the one I had freshman year. And I went to school in the middle of a corn field (www.uiuc.edu) and not in the middle of NYC. So he’s got that goin’ for him.

    Reply

  4. I did not go to collage and my four children are all under the age of 10.So I have zero experiences with collage dorms. But that post made me tear up!

    Reply

  6. Awww… reminds me of my college cell dorm room.
    I hope you got all the proper waivers/consents/photo releases signed and informed Bossy’s son’s new roommate just how famous he’s about to become! 🙂

    Reply

  7. At least Bossy’s son had the luxury of moving furniture around. My freshman dorm was of late 60’s/early 70’s vintage, and ALL OF THE FURNITURE WAS BOLTED TO THE WALLS. The beds were basically trundle beds that slid out from underneath built in cabinets/bolsters. If you drank too many at the $3/cup kegger, you were likely to get stuck between the bed and the bottom of the bolster and suffocate.

    I still have nightmares about that bed.

    Reply

  10. I cannot even express to you how different that room looks (finished) than a college GIRL’s room. There were no framed pictures, pretty bed skirts or fluffy pillows tossed around to deflect from the distinct cell-block-B feeling. So strange.

    Honestly for as much as Columbia costs ~ I was kinda expecting more of a home-ish feeling than the cell block. Eh. Why rob the kids of the traditional college experience?!

    I do hope those mattresses are comfy though ….

    Reply

  11. Here’s the part that got me–“The two MEN unpacked their books”. Aw, BOSSY. That was so subtle and generous and bittersweet.

    Reply

  13. My daughter goes to kindergarten next year! AHHHH! And then? The year after that? COLLEGE? IS THIS HOW IT WORKS? I think I may be panicking.

    Reply

  14. that is SO BOSSY ! I picture flinging open the door, then dropping EVERYTHING and saying “no no no.. this goes HERE and this goes HERE and that goes THERE!!”
    Love it!
    and now im in tears
    Love
    Madness

    Reply

  17. I LOVE the tubs on wheels. Wish they’d had those at my daughters U. What color do you think that rug will be by Thanksgiving? I think you should start a pool. Whoever comes closest to the correct shade and hue wins a rug shampooer or something.

    Reply

  18. Bossy’s son’s door room is larger than mine was–lucky guy! Also lucky to have such wonderful parents–mine wanted to stick around for HOURS while I silently begged them to leave so I could start scouting out the cool kids and cute boys already.

    Reply

  19. SOB! So you’re telling me that someday my BABY will leave me? He claims he’ll live with Mommy forever – is it possible that this is false?

    Oh Bossy! Eat some chocolate and have some wine!

    Reply

  20. That room is 45 times the size of my dorm room at UofO. My roommate and I could each lay in our beds and hold hands. Not that we ever, EVER did.

    Reply

  21. ugh.
    Every time I read about your son going off to college I freakin’ cry!
    My son’s a junior this year and this just really hits home.
    I’m already a total mess. What’s to come of me next year??!
    I applaud you, Bossy. For sharing and sharing some more.
    I’m need to go dry my tears now.

    Reply

  22. That dorm room is huge! I love the rearrangement, but for me, my desk is in front of the window…I’m so dang nosey, don’t want to miss a trick or a bird “doing it’s thing”

    Happy dorm life to Bossy’s son and his roommate who could possibly become his BFF or maybe a permanent guest in Bossy’s home on holidays.

    Reply

  23. I am sincerely surprised that Bossy didn’t pull out some crazy ‘sponsorship’ for BossySon… so we could see pics of his new sponsored condo, your family shopping at X store that’s sponsored his linens, and of course, eating at Havana Central or what-have-you… well, three years to go!

    Reply

  27. Bye, Bossy’s son!

    The guy I dated in college built lofts for the beds. Kinda like a bunk, but it’s a loft. ‘Twas very cool. More room to pa… study.

    Reply

  29. Hello, do window coverings exist anymore? Not a drape or blind to be seen. And can we say institutional much?! How very univiting. I would have totally BOUGHT a home for my kid after seeing that. ;(

    Reply

  30. Hey! My daughter has that same desk chair in her room, all the way across country at Washington State University. Her room is much smaller though.

    Reply

  32. Two words for bossy’s son and bossy’s son’s roommate: loft beds. Elevate the beds, put the desks underneath. Voila, way more room for parties, and your party guests are far less likely to spill or puke on your bed (not that this things happen at reputable universities like Columbia).

    Reply

  33. Goodbyes? Wait, what the…? YOU HAVE TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR CHILDREN WHEN THEY GO TO COLLEGE??? This was definitely NOT in the manual I got when they were born.
    To whom may I complain?

    Reply

  34. So, I hope you did leave him there. You did go home with your husband, didn’t you? Even though you had posted pictures of son at orientation before? You aren’t still there watching him, are you? BOSSY – GO HOME ALREADY!!!

    Reply

  35. I congratulate Bossy on the rearrangments of the room because I’m a feng shui artist and with a desk that faces a window? BAD BAD BAD. All the money goes right out the window. Of course, you dont actually MAKE a lot of money in college.

    Reply

  36. That dorm room was huge!
    Our rooms were so small that it was routine for folks to put a bed ON TOP of two dressers in order to have more floor space.

    Reply

  37. God. That was the thing that made me cry. The fact I was going to be LIVING in a PRISON CELL.

    Not to mention the fact that MY roommates got there before me, and she just had SO MUCH STUFF that we had to have… wait for it…

    bunk beds.

    In my entire life, I had never, ever been forced to sleep in a bunk bed… and now I was an adult? In a bunk bed? Wha?

    Good luck to Bossy’s Son!

    Reply

  40. Who knew that you would have to travel through Holland to get to college? My Lord! I’m liking the rug and the re-arranged room set-up. It always pays to get to your dorm room first and change things up a bit if necessary. Too bad those are not bunk beds or your son could get some plastic tubing to set the legs in and raise the bed high enough to put things under it (like a small refrig). He could still get some cinder blocks or something like that and raise it off the floor if he wanted. My daughter’s bed was so high she had to use a ladder to get into it! Ha ha.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *