At the risk of jeopardising my reputation as a strong independent woman, I will describe my first day of semi-emptynesthood.
• I woke up early with a candy hangover.( See yesterday’s post.)
• I took an Uber to Laguardia airport. (See post two days back.) I then flew into my respective airport, and after picking up my car I drove home.
I was greeted by my teenaged son, which rhymes with – and then there was one. I had put him in charge of three things while I was gone: the dogs, watering the hanging baskets, and taking the trash to the curb on trash day. His 33.333% compliance rate needs improvement. (The dogs are fine.)
• Off to the grocery store with said son, where I got choked up when my impulse was to pick up something for the girls. The shopping cart looked so empty. I needed a few minutes to get my emotions under control before proceeding to the check out register. (My son, the traitor said: “I’ll meet you outside.”)
• Next I got caught up on the things that make life tedious like laundry and watering the hanging baskets of dirt that were once hanging baskets of flowers back in the day when I still had three children living at home.
• Finally, it started with making up words like semi-emptynesthood. I wrote todays post without the assistance of my proofreader who chose college over the unpaid position…thankless child.
And so in eerie quietude my new life begins.
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August 21, 2016, One Word Daily Prompt: Jeopardize~ <a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/jeopardize/”>Jeopardize</a>
A lot from Lydia 
Hi Lydia! Thank you for all your posts…I always find them relevant to my life, especially lately as I am going through the same crazy emotions as I just got Gavin tucked away at Iowa last week. You are an amazing writer and I am so happy and grateful that you are so dedicated to using your gift! Thank you for your funny and poignant spin on life’s crazy events…they make me laugh and cry at the same time! Take good care of yourself..I miss you!
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Thank you Kristin, I miss you too! I didn’t realise Gavin was the same age as Emma. It’s not fun for us, but they’ll be great. I think I deserve to feel the way I feel, because I always snickered at the weepy parents thinking not me…I’m ready for this. I already bought the girls their plane tickets home for Thanksgiving, so I know I’ll be filling my shopping again soon. It’s something to look forward to. 😉
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Btw thank you for the exceedingly kind words, ❤️ and thank you for reading my posts!
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The next big issue is that you’ll get used to semi-emptynesthood and wonder what’s hit you when they all come back. Guilt…disorientation… But it’s OK. They never really leave
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Thanks Helen. It doesn’t ever end- or get easier.
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🙂 but would you want it to? Really?
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Yes, it is so different when the college kids move out. Next week, our group gets 2 people smaller and although it’s always a lot of work when everyone is home, I know I will absolutely ache when they leave. I guess the things that make life tedious are welcome distractions!
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It’s good to have distractions. I’d be a mess without mine.
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