February 06, 2010

Change

I built a fire, just as I do almost every evening in the winter. With-a-Why had a new book to read, so he grabbed a cushion from the couch and converted the ottoman into a lounge chair. My husband settled in the red chair with his laptop so that he could surf sites as we planned our late-summer vacation. Boy in Black and Shaggy Hair Boy came in after Ultimate practice: Boy in Black took a spot on the floor to begin stretching, while Shaggy Hair went to the kitchen area to look for food.

For all my complaints about the empty-nest syndrome, my house is still not particularly empty. But still, I can feel the changes coming. Boy in Black will graduate from college this year. My youngest child has grown so tall that I have to look up at him now. Shaggy Hair Boy has turned from teenager to confident, poised young man. Although we see her pretty often, my daughter is 150 miles away at her grad school in Bison City. Perhaps the most telling difference is that as we looked at parks and maps on the laptop, my husband and I were planning a summer vacation trip not for six people, but for two.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did Boy in Black finish college in less than 4 years, or have I really been reading you for that long?? Time flies....

Norah

Lilian said...

Last year you did go for for a trip just the two of you, but then you did have a full family summer trip, right? is this the very first year without one? Here *I*'m the one getting nostalgic for you already! And we haven't even met in person. Soon, though, hopefully. Will you be there the last week of March? We're planning a trip to Montreal then.

Jules said...

Now, that's change I can believe in! With our youngest now living off in the City With A Big Orange Bridge, we are planning our trip to Hawaii for TWO!

(Formerly CH)

jo(e) said...

Norah: Yeah, it's been four years since Boy in Black graduated from high school. Hard to believe.

Lilian: Last year, we took a trip by ourselves in June, but usually we take a family vacation in early August, and this is the first year that the family vacation will be replaced by a trip for just the two of us.

I should be here at the end of the March! Send me the dates when you know them. I'd love to meet you.

jo(e) said...

Jules: Hawaii? That's a place I've always wanted to see. Someday ....

landismom said...

Oh, vacation for two...that certainly does sound appealing...but I can imagine that when it finally gets here, I'll be nostalgic for the other kind.

BrightenedBoy said...

It's bittersweet, isn't it? You're happy that they're becoming confident young adults but sad that they're going.

I wouldn't rush to call yourself an empty-nester just yet, though; a friend of mine who is in his first year of graduate school still lives at home, and his story is pretty common in this economy.

How in the world are they playing Ultimate?

There's three feet of snow on the ground here, and a foot more due to come tomorrow!

jo(e) said...

Brightened Boy: Oh, that's true. There's even a possibility I might have all of my kids here next year.

Ultimate practices are held indoors in the winter months here. They only play outdoors if they travel south for a tournament.