18 February 2014

The Empty Nest

syndrome is upon us.

Our daughters have been talking about finding an apartment together, for some time. Like any good parents, we have mixed emotions about that, and it's a bittersweet time ... but it's a very good thing. Young adults should be encouraged to be independent, rather than remaining tied to the proverbial apron strings.

Last night, they signed a lease on their first place.

And now my wife is deciding how to rearrange the furniture to take advantage of increased space. :)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Count your blessings, my good friend!

gfa

Harry Flashman said...

My kids went up to Vancouver, Canada to go to Tech school about six years ago, when they left home. They stayed there two years, then went to Jacksonville, Florida. They were there a couple of years, and have been in Cincinnati since then. My daughter is one year older than my son. They have just decided that they need separate apartments, but at least they are still close to each other. It really helps, since they can support each other with things like car breakdowns, or someone getting sick, etc. We still miss them every day.

drjim said...

When my wife's son and his girlfriend moved out, their room sat empty for about two weeks while my wife figured out what she wanted to do with it.

Then she spent another couple of weeks painting it, and adding all kinds of her touches to it.

When the kids come back, they won't recognize it!

Rev. Paul said...

Absolutely, Guffaw. Thanks!

Harry, that's pretty much what we're thinking, too. Mutual support is a good thing where young adults are concerned.

drjim, that's exactly what's going on here, too. My wife is already thinking about what color paint to buy, and wants to paint the entire place. :)

PioneerPreppy said...

Not sure what my son is going to do now. As I predicted for him (and he didn't believe me but is starting to figure it out) they keep throwing more and more roadblocks in his way. He won't take that final step I been urging him to take which is trade school but keeps insisting he can get where he wants to go in college. He passed all his tests for the Army then because he was home schooled they threw a new one at him and then decided he needed 15 college credit hours to join. I even warned him about that and he didn't believe me.

If he ever does leave the nest I doubt I change anything because with what I see coming down the pipe I doubt he will be gone long.

Rev. Paul said...

Understood, Preppy. That's more of a concern now than before, but it'll be good for them to take this step now.

What comes later? Time will tell, I suppose, but I don't want them to be paralyzed with apprehension.

Stephen said...

I see a room filled with gun gear, reloading bench, library in your future. Good for the girls.

Rev. Paul said...

Stephen, that's pretty much the plan. Older Daughter's going to do the same thing in the new place, too.

Teresa said...

LOL - have fun being empty nesters. It's a good thing for kids to venture out. Sounds like they'll be close by so not that big of a jump.

I did think of this when I read your post. It cracks me up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHQ9IbNtOvk

Rev. Paul said...

Teresa - I love it! And yeah, that describes the process rather well. ROFL!

joated said...

Wish the girls the best in their new independence. And may you and the missus will find this liberating as well.

Rev. Paul said...

Thank you, my friend. The wife & I have taken a couple of week-long trips without offspring, over the last couple of years. "Liberating" is a good word for it. :)

threecollie said...

This is something that it is hard to adjust to, but the wonderful thing is, they do come home to visit. And I rejoice when ours do. Best wishes!

Cathy said...

Ah yes. As Marianne said. They do come home. And it's good to find the silver lining to buffer the pain. And it is painful.

Rev. Paul said...

threecollie & Cathy - we're getting the best of both worlds: they're not going very far. It's reassuring to know they still need us a little bit, but honestly, the job of a parent is to produce more adults. Not dependent little leeches, like we see these days.

Cathy said...

Oh yeah. And amen!

Rev. Paul said...

Thank you for that, Cathy. :)