Empty Nesters

We celebrated the updating of our status to 'Empty Nesters' with a nice bottle of bubbly.  Post a day of heavy walking, some carrying and a little lifting, it was a welcome relaxation jump start!  And certainly a milestone of no dependent kids living under our roof (at least for the next six months - the length of the lease the boys signed on the apartment) is reason to celebrate.

The apartment is very nice - nicer than any apartment I lived in as a young adult.  Freshly painted, brand new refrigerator and very new stove.  Dishwasher and garbage disposal.  Carpets clean and not too worn.  H.'s Cal King bed takes up most of his bedroom but it's fine.  While J. helped with putting shelf paper in the kitchen (thank you, honey!), I headed to WalMart to purchase things they needed ASAP - like trash cans, shower curtains, etc. . 

H. called here around 7ish asking if he could come home for dinner.  Ha ha ha....we said 'of course you can come home anytime you want - but we didn't cook dinner so you will have to scrounge here, too'.  We reminded him there were hot pockets and burritos in their freezer; cheese and eggs and milk in the fridge and I had given him money to 'celebrate' with a dinner out.  As I handed him the money, I said 'your Mom has just given you money unexpectedly.  This is your first econ lesson of living on your own.  You could blow all that money tonight on 'celebrating' or you could buy a reasonable dinner and save 80% of it for groceries.  Think carefully.'  So he calls home for dinner....progress?  I mean, he didn't buy dinner....

He also needed a lamp for his bedroom and luckily, there's been a lamp in our guestroom for years unused - a 'tower' lamp - he loved it so he took that back.  Today, J. will return there to get the computers set up and to take over a few more things they may need.  We did a great job of finding stuff on hand here - and only spent about $100 to get things they didn't have and needed.  They still have a lot of unpacking to do - and getting settled.  We will let them settle in and told them both to make lists of things they may need and then we will do another shopping trip.

I'm also going to offer to come over one evening a week and help H. cook something - he needs to learn to survive on his own.  The kid has never even made a sandwich.  I know - we've spoiled him - but those days are over.  Time to learn to fry eggs, make sandwiches, learn to make a quesadilla, etc.  Easy, quick things I can show him - and then we'll have dinner.  Or he can come here....whichever.

Thankfully, his roommate J. is pretty self sufficient and has done chores a lot, cooked a lot, etc..  So there's hope....

The parking isn't great - they only have one space for their unit - with two cars.  The other 'uncovered' spaces are always available - but they are few and far between.  They'll have to figure it out.  My only complaint about the place was the smell of car oil - every single space had a thick layer of leaked oil.  Gross!  I don't know why that bugs me so much - except that kids inevitably walk through it and track it everywhere.  H. is going to have to take off his shoes when he visits...  I've never lived in a complex bigger than 20 units -this complex has 100's of units so it's quite a bit different. 

Friday was brutally long (5:30AM until after 4PM) and steadily swamped - but my big project was completed on time.  J. confirmed that there was a 3 page letter from our soldier so I couldn't wait to get home and read it!  He wrote it just after he'd received our first two letters.  He talked about his DI's (Drill Instructors) and how he has come to appreciate they are great people doing a hard job.  I think that's pretty insightful and also think that shows B. has a little more maturity than many - he's not just out of high school.  He said he quietly celebrated his birthday with a brownie and has made a couple good buddies he felt comfortable telling it was his birthday.  I'm glad he's got a couple friends.

He is a little homesick (to be expected) and is finally feeling better (said they say 'it's getting used to the Georgia air' which is probably true 'cuz he's gone from warm and dry to wet, warm and very humid).  He can't wait for family day and neither can we....11 weeks and counting.

J. and I are enjoying our first morning sans children in the house....I am heading to my office for a bit while J. runs a couple errands.  Then we will be back here preparing for the Super Bowl - ordering wings from Wing Stop and I'm making crab dip!  Snacking for dinner again tonight - probably should order more wings for H. in case he calls again for dinner.

The house is quiet.  J. has a lot of new projects to work on - cleaning up the two almost empty rooms upstairs.  And I identified more things to do in the garage that will help organize further there as well.  Little by little, we are continuing to cull.

The upcoming week is another jammed with more in a day than I can even elaborate on - every day filled.  And it's board prep week which adds massive stuff to the list.  Next week is a three day weekend which will be lovely!  Maybe J. and I can wedge in a fun day for ourselves...could happen.

I want to write to our soldier today; get started on the 3 tax returns we need to prepare; do stuff around the house a bit...though when I stand up, my feet and legs hurt so much, I am walking stooped over for the first few steps....

Parenthood never ends....but it is really nice to be in this next phase of not having them here daily.  I know I will miss H. like crazy (just like I do B.) and I am truly glad H. is a couple of miles down the street (we could even walk there if we wanted to cross a vacant field and climb a fence.  Their back patio has Raley's as a neighbor - so they are pretty darn close!). 

I'm glad he's here in town.  From four to two in this house in a month is hard to do. 

But I'm sure we'll adjust.  Right, honey?  :-)