Happy New Year!  The Neurotic Parent is pleased to report that it has been a pleasure having CJ home, even though when here, he is usually asleep.  In the spirit of forgiveness, we are so proud of his first-semester grades that we have excused him for
forgetting to stay in touch for the last five months.  That hasn’t stopped us from imposing firm restrictions for the new decade:  Henceforth, our son will be required to iChat with us for 3-5 minutes every Sunday night.  Apparently this is a common practice, adhered to by most college students.

But one mom, whose son attends a top New England liberal arts school, has warned us that iChats are not always as satisfying as one would think.  Yes, her son dutifully called home every week, but there on the bookshelf behind him during the most recent call, was a half-empty 2-liter bottle of vodka.