My Empty Nest
Aug. 28, 2011 5:40 am
Updated: Sep. 5, 2011 4:42 pm
It seems many of us are going thru the Empty Nest Syndrome in some way or another. It's that time of year - our "little ones" are heading off to college and leaving us alone. Hubby and I are back to the empty nest - for a while anyways. Steve headed
back to school yesterday for his final semester of college. He'll be home in December and here he will stay. Until he gets a job that can afford rent and all the other "adult" things we seem to spend our money on.
Steve going back to college is always a semi-sad time for me. I love having him home and I know I'll miss him when he leaves. But - I also love having the peace and quiet, probably because I know it's only temporary. This year was a little different than
all the years past and I have felt some guilt over it. Steve bought a truck this summer and so he no longer needed us to haul all his things back to school; which means he went back without us in tow. We said our good-byes in the driveway and then I left
with my daughter and sister for a shopping/winery day trip. That helped ease some of the guilt feelings I was having.
Yesterday morning I was still asking him, "Are you sure you don't need us to follow along behind in the car? You might need some help carrying your clothes in, or the little fridge?" Nope -he could handle it he assured me. I knew he could, I was just having
a hard time letting him leave without his "Mommy" in tow. The trip with daughter and sister was a great idea. I'm not sure I could have watched him drive out the driveway with his loaded down truck. Turns out it was a real good idea. And, here's the story
why.....
Me, my daughter and sister - who's 40th birthday was yesterday - are sitting at a table overlooking a lake enjoying a glass of wine with cheese and crackers and I get a text message. From Steve. "Umm.... guess I took a wrong turn and it was a bad idea"
I text back "What??" The kid has already spent 4 years at school and he knows how to get there, what in the world is he talking about???? I don't get any more replies back from him for an hour until he texts "On campus, John helping me carry stuff in".
I put the strange first text out of my mind.
The rest of my day goes very well. We have a great afternoon of mother/daughter/sister bonding time. My little sister had never been to a winery until a few months ago when we all went to one while visiting the Islands on Lake Erie. She loved it and has
been wanting to go to more. I think I'm turning her into a "Wine-O" LOL. So, I leave my daughter's house and head for home. On the short drive I start thinking about how I'm going home to a very quiet house. My husband is working a booth at the county fair
and Steve is gone. I'm going to sit out on the deck with the dogs and enjoy some of that silence I've written about before.
Then I pull into our drive. What the heck??!! My yard is all torn up! It looks like someone had a great time four-wheeling thru the yard. Now, I'll stop here and mention that we live rural and our yard would never win any prizes for being beautiful - but
it used to be green at least - now it's mostly large ruts and plenty of mud! Suddenly the strange text from Steve comes back to my mind. Hmmm.... the ruts go from the driveway down to our back door. It's all making sense now. I'm quite the detective -it
comes from being Steve's mom, I know how he operates. New big truck (yes, it's a 4x4), boxes to load, long walk from house to drive = Drive truck to door and save many steps. Oops - forgot to realize how soft the yard was. But, hey - Four wheel drive works
great in new truck.
I send Steve a text "Turfing your own yard is not a good idea". The response? "LOL" So I send the hubby a text (who was home when Steve left). "So, who turfed the yard... and why?" the response "I guess I wasn't real specific about where to park the truck
for loading it up" Hmmm... guess not. Next response? "Somebody has a heck of a mess to fix, huh?! One guess who it will be.." My response? "Well.. Steve is gone and it won't be me. That leaves you!" His response? "Winner!"
Our yard isn't pretty now, not even remotely. But, things like that don't really upset any of us too much. It can be fixed. And really - it's good for a few laughs. Steve's final trip back to school will always be a good story.
