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Empty Nesting
Sep. 12th, 2009 05:22 pmI also meant to post about why we are able to trot off to Europe in the autumn - we are now empty nesters!
Yep, the son, our youngest, has gone off to university (3 weeks ago now). The daughter, our oldest, graduated uni over a year ago and is a second-grade teacher - for Spanish-speaking kids; how cool is that!
Here are some observations:
People seem to have two questions; to wit:
1) I bet you really miss him, don't you?
2) I bet you are running around your house naked, aren't you?
No kidding, question #2 comes up far more frequently than I'd ever have expected. It's not something that actually crossed my mind as a possibility, to be honest. I mean, we still have windows that look out onto passers-by in the street - and vice versa.
So here are the things I do actually notice:
1) I'm getting much better sleep because I'm not being woken at some ungodly hour of the night when said son bothers to comes home. He had a shit job under the table for part of the summer but gave up on it for the final month. So, being 18, and clearly letting us know that he was 18, he kept his own damn hours, thank you very much. Back when he was still in high school, I was also awakened every 15 minutes starting at 5:20 AM between everyone coming and going. And then awakened every 15 minutes until wee hours wondering when people were going to bother to show up. Now? Mr. Geoviki is taking son's car, parked in the driveway, rather than his car, parked in the garage right under the bed. So I barely even notice him scurrying off to work. I wake up all on my own, something I haven't been able to do in years!
2) Son was really ready to be on his own. He barely musters a phone call once a week. Now, Son is notoriously taciturn, so conversations are short, but at least he's alive. It's clear he isn't homesick. He says he loves university. It's a little over an hour's drive away.
3) We can predict how many to cook for, what to make, and when. Son was hit-and-miss about showing up for meals. Daughter, who comes for dinner now and again, is vegetarian. Husband doesn't like to eat out and likes healthy food, so it's down to cooking every day, but luckily he does most of it. Me, I don't care WTF we eat. I'm easy. The other day I had wine and popcorn for dinner 'cause Mr. Geoviki had band practice. To me, eating popcorn for dinner is way better than being naked in my living room.
4) I don't have to play Battle of the Bands with Son anymore. He's got speakers about as powerful as mine, and his room faces my computer room. So he'd be cranking out Blink-182 while I was enjoying Miyavi. Culture clash.
ETA 5) Just finished dinner and we both commented on how the kitchen - indeed, the whole house - stays a lot cleaner when people aren't eating, say, toast and walking around the house between every bite. In summer, I walk around barefoot, which means I accumulate tons of crumbs on the feet. Not any more!
Other stray thoughts: The weather took a turn towards autumn today. It's cool and rainy. I spent a good 5 hours vacuuming and dusting, which kicked off my allergies liek whoa, so Tissues-R-Us.
Yep, the son, our youngest, has gone off to university (3 weeks ago now). The daughter, our oldest, graduated uni over a year ago and is a second-grade teacher - for Spanish-speaking kids; how cool is that!
Here are some observations:
People seem to have two questions; to wit:
1) I bet you really miss him, don't you?
2) I bet you are running around your house naked, aren't you?
No kidding, question #2 comes up far more frequently than I'd ever have expected. It's not something that actually crossed my mind as a possibility, to be honest. I mean, we still have windows that look out onto passers-by in the street - and vice versa.
So here are the things I do actually notice:
1) I'm getting much better sleep because I'm not being woken at some ungodly hour of the night when said son bothers to comes home. He had a shit job under the table for part of the summer but gave up on it for the final month. So, being 18, and clearly letting us know that he was 18, he kept his own damn hours, thank you very much. Back when he was still in high school, I was also awakened every 15 minutes starting at 5:20 AM between everyone coming and going. And then awakened every 15 minutes until wee hours wondering when people were going to bother to show up. Now? Mr. Geoviki is taking son's car, parked in the driveway, rather than his car, parked in the garage right under the bed. So I barely even notice him scurrying off to work. I wake up all on my own, something I haven't been able to do in years!
2) Son was really ready to be on his own. He barely musters a phone call once a week. Now, Son is notoriously taciturn, so conversations are short, but at least he's alive. It's clear he isn't homesick. He says he loves university. It's a little over an hour's drive away.
3) We can predict how many to cook for, what to make, and when. Son was hit-and-miss about showing up for meals. Daughter, who comes for dinner now and again, is vegetarian. Husband doesn't like to eat out and likes healthy food, so it's down to cooking every day, but luckily he does most of it. Me, I don't care WTF we eat. I'm easy. The other day I had wine and popcorn for dinner 'cause Mr. Geoviki had band practice. To me, eating popcorn for dinner is way better than being naked in my living room.
4) I don't have to play Battle of the Bands with Son anymore. He's got speakers about as powerful as mine, and his room faces my computer room. So he'd be cranking out Blink-182 while I was enjoying Miyavi. Culture clash.
ETA 5) Just finished dinner and we both commented on how the kitchen - indeed, the whole house - stays a lot cleaner when people aren't eating, say, toast and walking around the house between every bite. In summer, I walk around barefoot, which means I accumulate tons of crumbs on the feet. Not any more!
Other stray thoughts: The weather took a turn towards autumn today. It's cool and rainy. I spent a good 5 hours vacuuming and dusting, which kicked off my allergies liek whoa, so Tissues-R-Us.
