The empty nest is great. In the month of July Pam
and I moved our daughter and her new husband into their new apartment in
Columbia, South Carolina. Then a week later moved our son into his new rental
house in Nashville, Tennessee. Finally, after several false starts and 26 years
of kid-centric living, we are home, alone. Now that we have had an entire month
of freedom under our belt, let me list for you the best parts of empty nest
life:
1. We
never have to fuss at either of them about how messy their rooms are. Every time
we pass by their doors, their beds are all made…just like the last time we
checked. What a relief it is not to have to nag them about it. Now, if we get unexpected
guests from out of town. We won’t have to scramble around making their rooms
presentable. Of course, we’ve never actually had any unexpected guests show up
on our doorstep recently…or ever, but if it happens, we’ve got a couple of
immaculately clean guestrooms going for us.
2. Since
our kids aren’t here to constantly leave their bedroom lights on 24/7, our electricity
consumption has been slashed by…3.5%
3. Now
that they have moved out, the street in front of our house doesn’t look like a
used car lot. Their two cars aren’t there and neither are the cars of their
friends. It’s just empty…and since Pam and I both park our cars inside the
garage, you can hardly tell if anyone is home…kind of like an abandoned house.
It’s great.
4. Our
grocery bill has been cut virtually in half. Finally, the cupboard isn’t stuffed
full of chips and snacks. The freezer isn’t packed to the gills with ice cream
and freezy pops and all the other delicious stuff that they used to inhale. As
a consequence, we are eating healthier. Yes, no more calorie filled sweet
treats for us, no sirree Bob.
5. Did
I mention the laundry? Did I mention how we only have to wash clothes once a
week or so? That’s a good thing…right?
6. Quiet,
it’s so very quiet. Peace and quiet used to be an impossibility around here and
now it’s like…all the time. Really great.
7. We
don’t have to clean the kids’ bathroom anymore. We don’t have to scrub Kaitlin’s
hair products off of the tile floor with a toothbrush. It really wasn’t her
fault. She had to use all kinds of stuff on her beautiful curls to keep them
from getting out of control. Cleaning up after Kaitlin’s beautiful delicate
curls are now the responsibility of Jon. Finally…a clean guest bedroom, and no
beautiful curls. Great.
8. Oh,
and the music thing. When Patrick was here, he was always sitting down at the
piano working something out in his mind, playing the same measure over and over
trying to perfect it. It was always very difficult to read with that piano
going all the time. Sometimes I would sit there at my desk and just listen to
him play and the next thing I knew, thirty minutes had flown by. I am so much more
efficient now that I don’t have beautiful, creative, soulful music being
written all around me.
9. It’s
also quite refreshing not to have the violent crash and flash of video game
noise pulsing out of the movie room. Now I don’t have to remember to not trip
on all the chords laying all around the floor. Sooo much safer in there now.
10. Where
before we saw our kids all the time, now we get to decide when we would like to
see them. And when we do, all we have to do is hop in the car and drive 7 hours
to see Kaitlin and Jon and a mere 9 and a half to see Patrick. That way, we
will arrive fresh and rested and truly enjoy our two days together before we
have to drive 7 and 9 and a half hours back…to our quiet, clean, nearly
abandoned-looking house.
Yes, the empty nest
is…great.
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