I am writing this opener from the Outer Banks in North Carolina where my family and I are celebrating our annual end-of-the-summer getaway. As September approaches, I find myself wondering where the summer went. I am in back-to-school mode as my older son Greg is leaving for his first year at college. Although he will be close by (Fordham’s Manhattan campus is about four blocks away from our office), I confess that I will miss having him around all the time.

College dorm room shopping has reached a new fevered pitch. I spent most of last weekend trying to have my son comprehend that while he will be living in an on-campus apartment, which is pretty cool for a freshman, this is neither a five-star hotel (which I confess that my sons are quite fond of) nor is it furnished like an extended stay inn. It's a dorm. And yes, that does have four letters. In fact, the furniture fancies a minimum security prison (the bedroom) or doctor's waiting room (the living room). I keep telling Greg to look around the house at the things he uses every day like paper towels, toilet paper and kitchen utensils and realize that none of those come with the apartment. I would have used cleaning supplies as part of this exercise, but I am not sure Greg would recognize Clorox Cleanup or Scrub Free. Those were part of the Advanced Housekeeping class he skipped in lieu of taking Lighthouse Exploration and the History of Ocean Liners.

Last weekend I realized that my older son is headed off for college in a few weeks, and we had done nothing to get ready for this. It’s not that I did not remember that he was going to college; the arrival of the tuition bill reminded me all too well of that with its eye-popping balance. It’s just that with my travels I had not whipped myself into the froth and frenzy that typically would accompany this impending move. Instead I bolted up in bed last Sunday (like Allison DuBois pops up on "Medium" when she has one of those premonition dreams of hers) completely focused on…bedding, towels, dishes...and when I talked to him he added to that list: printer, iPod player and laundry bag.