Tis the season for Freshman college students to leave their homes and for so many parents to earn the unenviable title of “empty nesters”. And if you are on social media, you can’t help but feel your eyes fill like buckets of water as you see picture after picture of moms tightly embracing their kin as they set them off to fly on their own.
And while I am not quite there yet- my kids have been gone for four days and four nights and all I can say is– WOW this house feels exceptionally still and quiet. But it’s not just the eerie stillness that feels almost like another being in the house with you. It’s so many things and basically it’s as though a whole new lifestyle is JUST WAITING FOR US.
#1: There is TIME ENOUGH AT LAST. One of my favorite Twillight Zone episodes is the one where Burgess Meredith who wants nothing more than to spend his every waking moment reading a book- finally gets his chance when he emerges from his bank cellar to find the world has been destroyed. And that is how I feel– there is FINALLY TIME to watch every single episode of Better Call Saul without feeling JUDGED. The Silence, my husband and our dogs- could care less if I spend hours binge watching- so yes- there is time enough at last.
#2: Alcohol makes everything much more fun. So much of the stress we have on a daily basis could be cut to a minimum after a nice glass of Merlot. This is something I have become acutely aware of since my kids left for camp. My husband and I have not fought once over dishes or laundry. WHY? I don’t know but it could be because there is a permanent glass of wine in my presence at all times.
#3 We might be HOARDERS. We are all so busy running around every day- our schedules don’t leave much room for actually looking around this humble abode we live in. And now that we have some time to stop and “smell the roses” we realize we have some serious hoarding issues. So my husband spent some time FINALLY coming to the conclusion that his Roy Rogers wagon wheel coffee table from his first apartment might be ready for the curb. WE are still working out the kinks but I think I’ve almost convinced him to toss a few of his “members Only” jackets as well.
#4 We can’t be left alone with a container of ice cream or for that matter ANY FOOD. Normally our kids will be sure that we pace ourselves when we buy a pint- but my husband and I have zero willpower and egg each other on to finish. We also realized that we might be co-dependent over-eaters.
I guess we have a few years to make sure we try and get a “handle on these behaviors” eh?!
This post originally appeared on Married My Sugar Daddy