Enesters
 

The last one left 8 years ago -- I now see it both ways -the wife and I enjoy the house -we now have two dogs instead of one and we pretty much do what we please when we please.

That said we still miss em though even though one of em is 1000 miles away with cell phones and e mail its not so bad.

The thing is though they are grown men seems they still keep me busy with questions about whats broken in the house, car etc. I've partnered with each on some small RE ventures so they still cost me money.

AND --and it is the big AND we have three g-kids so everything old is new again.
The backseat on a 911 actually fits 5 year olds perfect!!

Empty nest just depends on how kid centric one got --can be hard not to have that happen --but the whole thing is a journey- the trick is to enjoy each chapter.

Mflo

"but the whole thing is a journey- the trick is to enjoy each chapter." monoflo

I could not agree more. We have enjoyed our time with our children immensely, and have put them first is most ways. Like Moses' daughter (whose thread got me thinking about this) our Emily is a good girl, 4.6GPA at a rigorous private high school, and she has earned a half scholarship purely based on academics and who she is. She has been a joy to raise, she loves God, she's full of life and a very large part of our family of five. She will be leaving in mid-August for a phenomenal private liberal arts college 2000 miles away from sunny southern California, and we have encouraged her to pursue her dreams. No child is perfect, but she has never given us any reason to worry. We will not tie her down with our own desires to be in her life. And, we still have two more at home.

But the clock is certainly ticking towards the end of our child-rearing days, which is all we have known for the last 18 years. Some readjustment will certainly be in order, but like so many things in life, there's a certain fear of the unknown that must be addressed. Hearing from so many of you that there are indeed pluses to go with the minuses certainly helps!

Turning 18
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1273775559.jpg

Dancing with her OLD man
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1273775640.jpg

She's leaving home...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1273775699.jpg

After listening to many teen rants of "I can't wait to be free", our daughter finally left home.

She had no idea who was being set free. :D

As some will know (Room Monkey Saga), we currently have a boomerang - through a court order no less. It was bliss until this . . . :(

One year maximum . . . and then I throw his butt out.

Ian

All of you have so far not mentioned the grandkids. If your offspring don't get too far from the tree, you will have a whole second generation to raise. They don't have to be underfoot necessarily. But, they will be on the phone and you will be planning your time with them. So, they still take up a lot of time.

Some are good with this, some not so much. A real problem can come up if you have differing opinions on the subject of how much time the grandkids should occupy. Around here it might as well be that kids never left.

Dave,

Very glad to see your daughter with some proper reading material. Atlas Shrugged makes you think and its one of the best books around.

Joe A