Care Packages
By Patricia Hudson
Bring a Touch of Home for College Students The car is packed, and the time has come to send that son off to college. Choking back tears, mom hugs her “child” fiercely. With a sense of false bravado, her son turns and waves as he drives away. How will he make it without mom’s hot breakfasts, appointment reminders and fresh laundry? Never fear; as a mom of a college grad, I can assure you that somehow, you and your child will survive! While that college student is certain to experience new and exciting things, he will most definitely miss the familiarity of home. Show him some love; send him (or her), a Care Package. Through my online research, I found several creative ideas. A “Birthday in a Box,” might include freeze-dried ice cream, a microwave cake, streamers or a birthday banner, birthday hats, noisemakers, and some favorite snacks. College can be rigorous, so a “Stress Relief Box” might be a great idea during mid-term or finals week. Pack up a Slinky, a marshmallow gun with marshmallows, some silly string, Silly Putty, Play Dough, a Bop It and throw in some card games. Cy-Fair families have their own Care Package suggestions.
Mac, coffee, creamer, and homemade cookies to share with the dorm. “Snickerdoodles! The kids love them and they travel well.” Lily Locke Cossé opted to send her daughter Valerie Lacy “Chocolate chip cookies, breakfast bars, pretzels, trail mix, and always, a little cash thrown in.” Susan Baldwin Glass says, “Both of my boys loved my Care Packages, at least that’s what they said!” Garrett, 27, attended Texas State, and Dillon, 24, went to Webser College in St. Louis. “I sent homemade goodies, gift certificates, and most importantly, hand written notes. Also, a quick tip: empty aluminum foil or plastic wrap containers are the perfect size for mini cookies or cut up cookie bars! Easy to pack in a Care Package.” Sarah Rathbun Pyles sent her son, Lee, chips and Easy Mac. “Actually, I found that my son really didn’t appreciate care packages like I thought he would. Sometimes, they sat for days in the mail room before he picked them up!”
When Madison, Stacie Guidry’s daughter, attended Stephen F. Austin, Stacie mailed off gift cards to Kroger and CVS. “She had a food plan, but would also find that essentials needed to be supplemented.” Cherri Rustad Barker, mother of SFA alumni Sydney and her brother Carson, filled packages from home with “Microwaveable food and quick to grab breakfast bars.” Veronica Swift, a talented cook and baker, knows how to make her boys Gabe, (Trinity University grad, 2020), and Jared, (Texas A&M soon-to-be sophomore), happy. “Homemade goodies! Chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, flour tortillas, Chex Mix, and meals: lasagna, enchiladas, chili. The boys lived close enough so when they came home for a weekend, I made up food for them to take back. I made them a 'finals' package that consisted of a meal and snacks to share with the roommates.” Glory Ferguson Hoeflich’s son Matthew will be a sophomore at the university of Arkansas. She plans to send him Easy PinPointe Magazine
7
