Adjusting…

I’ve been riding an emotional roller coaster. It’s been a few days now since my youngest (age 26) moved out and my husband and I became empty nesters. I feel happy and sad all within seconds of each other! I sometimes forget that she’s not here. I expect to see her coming out of her room in the morning. (Usually long after I’ve had my first cup of coffee and have already started working!) I expect to see her sitting in one of her two favorite spots in our house. (Sometimes we had to negotiate for who gets the most coveted spot.) At night we’d light candles in the living room and put on vintage shows like “Mary Taylor Moore” or watch movies.

That’s over now.

Our eldest had been living here too since November 2022 (she moved out at the end of March), but mostly for the last four+ years she’s been living elsewhere. When she moved back temporarily she landed in our family room with most of her chattel in storage. It wasn’t easy for her to be sleeping on a couch and working remotely from that same spot and it wasn’t convenient for any of us. And yet we had some absolutely wonderful times with her here. It was lovely having us all under the same roof for a while. I had missed that.

But it wasn’t sustainable. So it’s perfect now that our daughters are sharing a place together. And literally they are just 4.3 miles away. Just up the road.

Still it changes everything.

And, I know it’s illogical, but I feel older. My job’s done. Well, I know it’s not done done. But it’s different now.

Still it’s not all bad. My husband and I have more privacy which is lovely. I can have the coveted corner couch seat whenever I want! Our water bill should show a significant drop. And bonus there’s no queue at the washing machine. Eventually (hopefully sooner rather than later) I’ll be able to turn their bedroom into a guest room while using the copious shelves for storing some of my Etsy inventory. Right now the shelves still have lots of their odds and ends awaiting their new home. Looking forward to taking this over!