The empty nest is on hold.

Jack will be doing the fall from home as part of what Northeastern is calling “NU Start” – an all virtual program for first semester freshmen. He is sad but accepting (as far as I can tell anyway.)

I am trying to get him to move back to a “living in daylight” schedule. We’ll see how successful that is.

Amanda’s classes will start virtually on August 19th but she will not be moving to an on-campus apartment for her Senior year as originally planned. She and her 2 roommates have leased an off campus place because they are worried that the whole thing is going to get shut down.

They are hoping to move in after Labor Day. I would very much like for numbers in Tennessee to look vastly better before she goes. I totally understand that she needs to get something resembling her normal life back. But I don’t love sending her off to a hot spot. Again, just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

In other, more positive news, we are getting a puppy (!)

I asked Jack what he needed to adapt to his school-from-home situation for optimal happiness and mental health and he is quite insistent that what he needs is a puppy. So his therapy dog, who will also fill a piece of my emptying nest, is scheduled to arrive in late September or early October.

She’s an itty bitty baby at the moment and I have no pictures. But as soon as I do I will share.

I am both excited and terrified by this development. Gotta love a little fluff nugget. Also…yikes…baby 😳

I asked Jack if he was going to join any virtual clubs at school and he scoffed at this idea.

In an attempt to add yet more fun to our fall semester at the Chester Springs campus of Northeastern University I have chartered the Cheese Club 🧀 (something several schools bragged about during our tours last year) which will meet bi-weekly via Zoom and include an inter-collegiate membership (hopefully) from the Nashville area.

I thought about the Squirrel Watching club, which our canine membership would probably enjoy. (Also a thing at at least one of the colleges we toured.)

But cheese always wins.

So our little pod is on the verge of a big shakeup. Change is good, right?

Hope all is well in your isolation pods. We’re still hanging in there, right?