CF grads celebrate their mothers

These recent CF graduates are just about to come home. After many long months away from their mothers for the first time, they celebrate their mothers and all that their mothers have done for them. Be sure to wish your mom a Happy Mothers Day!

Merlin MacGillivray

Merlin MacGillivray (left) and his mother Catherine MacGillivray (right).

Q: What’s your mom’s name, and what is she like?

A: My mother’s name is Catherine, and she is whip-smart. She’s an academic and a huge literary nerd. A good example for her literary obsession is how she once named her son Merlin because she likes mythology and how Merlin is an intellectual in a story full of warriors. She’s also very affectionate, and taught me to be that way as well.

Q: What is your best memory with your mom? 

A: It’s hard to say what my best memory of her is. A good one is out with her in Lisbon [the capital of Portugal] last summer. It was just the two of us at the beginning of our vacation, and it was a super nice time experiencing the city.

Q: Do you miss your mom now that you’ve gone to college?

A: When I left for college, my mother asked me if she had permission to continue to nag me about things I need to do, books I should read, etc. I realized that my mother is actually a wonderful source of advice. Advice on how to handle college work, relationship advice, how to talk to professors and so much more, so I gave her permission to bother me about what I need to do, and I appreciate it much more than I ever did while I was living with her.

Q: What is some advice you can give to help others maintain a good relationship with their mothers, even after going away to college?

A: To maintain a good relationship with your mother after going away to college, I think you should develop a friendship with her. Get invested and interested in how her life is: her work, her stress, etc. Converse and listen like you would with a friend. The relationship of a parent and a child is often one where the focus is on the child’s needs, even if the parent and child disagree on what those needs are. I try to change this and be a listening ear for when my mom needs to talk about her problems.

Claire Chenoweth

Q: What’s your mom’s name, and what is she like?

A: My mom’s name is Kathleen Sihler. She is practical, honest and warm She is a planner and an organizer and always feels one step ahead even when she’s not.

Q: What is your best memory with your mom? 

A: One of my favorite memories with her was when she, my sister and I went to Oregon last summer before I left for school; I learned a lot about her, and I think it was the first time I’d traveled with her as an official “adult.” I could feel that I wasn’t her child in quite the same way anymore, but in a new way.

I think I started appreciating my mom in a new way during the college decision process. I think was when I reallly started to feel her treating like an adult but still taking care of me, and I feel that same way now that I’ve gone to college.

Q: Do you miss your mom now that you’ve gone to college?

A: She still worries and sometimes she texts me these love notes. She used to write me these little love notes with a chore or two and leave them on the kitchen table when I lived at home.

Q: What is some advice you can give to help others maintain a good relationship with their mothers, even after going away to college?

A: Being honest about what you need, what you don’t need and when you don’t know what you need. Remember that good communication is awlays something to work on developing, and vulnerability is a two way street.

Elizabeth Pierce

Q: What’s your mom’s name, and what is she like?

A: My mom’s name is Kim, and she is quite funny to me. She tries her best to raise my brothers and I (I’m the youngest).

Q: What is your best memory with your mom? 

A: My favorite memory is probably when we went to Washington, D.C., just the two of us. It was a really fun trip, and our first one we took with just the two of us.

Q: Do you miss your mom now that you’ve gone to college?

A: When I’m in college, I miss talking face to face with her. I didn’t really text her much at home because she’s bad at it, and I wouldn’t call her much either. When we talk, it’s more spontaneous.

Q:  Do you appreciate your mom a lot more now that you’ve gone to college?

A: My mom has always asked me if I’m doing well whenever we talk to make sure her last bird out of the nest is doing fine. She always asks if I need money even though she knows I don’t speed it ( got to use those that meal plan they force you into your first year, and I don’t have a car, so I can’t really drive anywhere), so it shows that she is thinking of me. I appreciate her a bit more now that I’m in college. I mean the standard things you don’t often think about until they are gone. Like she would do my laundry and the like.

Q: What is some advice you can give to help others maintain a good relationship with their mothers, even after going away to college?

A: My advice would be to keep in communication because once you go to college you kind of forget because for me I went from seeing her every day to only seeing her every once in awhile, so I got out of the rhythm. Maybe say that every Wednesday and Saturday you call her to keep a routine.