August 29 Sam moved into Bates College!!! And it was his 17th month post transplant-aversary!

The weather was perfect — not a cloud in the sky and not hot either.

Sam was the most judicious packer of any student I saw unloading their car/SUV too. And even when he sent me to Target for 3 items, he stuck to his list and only accepted 3 of my many add-on offers (I went for laundry detergent, 2 sets of dishes and 2 sets of utensils. I returned with those items plus post it notes, whiteboard markers, and some cliff bars 😊)

It was fun to meet his roommate and his parents: he’s the oldest of his family too and he has a 12 year old brother as well. 😀. Plus a sister who is 1 year behind him.

We got everything moved in and Sam did most of the arranging, I just hung out and took direction (but mostly he did everything — it was great!).

We had lunch and I got to meet his friend Isabel and her family plus her roommate. He’d met Isabel during Admit Day back in the spring and they’d kept in touch so it was nice to get to get to meet her.

And then we heard from the President of Bates, Dr. Gary Jenkins as well as other Bates staff. After that, they said “there are cookies for you all and then it’s time to say goodbye” — they didn’t mince words. It was clear that the expectation was for us parents to grab a cookie, hug our student, wish them well, and get on with our lives. 😆 I appreciated their direct style as did Sam. 👊🏼

Bates is such a friendly, warm, welcoming place — I was super impressed! I think it will be great place for Sam!

#FULeukemia

#17months

#TeamSamStrong