It has been a long time since I have written in my "blog" but I am breaking the silence today. Our third adult child has "launched", not for good mine you but she is no longer living under our roof. I recognize that she may move back if her plans or circumstances change. She has moved seven or so hours away so she will not be popping in to raid our food supply or use the laundry facilities. I do not know what the future holds of her, but I am excited to see what she will do.
I have probably mentioned that time seems to go faster the older I get and I know this is an old cliché we hear often. I have however found it to be true. I used to think that as more of your children leave home the easier it gets to have the next one go, but to me it just hammers home the fact that they do grow up and leave. One universal truth is that by the time they leave you are most likely ready for them to go, it just seems like it's time. Not that you do not like them anymore but they seem to get stuck if they stay home too long.
There is one big drawback to having a child leave home and that is that they leave things behind. My dear wife spent two or three weeks sorting out a storage room only to find that the vast majority of the room's contents belong to children who no longer live at home. I suggested doing what her mother did when she left home and that is just send the boxes of "stuff" to them as Christmas presents. It is with fond memories that my wife recounts getting a large box from UPS around Christmas from her mother. She was slightly deflated when she opened it to find it full of her "stuff" from when she was a kid. I did see the same box during the recent sorting frenzy and it still contains my wife's childhood "stuff". The daughter who left us today left behind more than boxes of "stuff", she left behind a cat and five new kittens. I do not know what the heck we are supposed to do with them. Presently the kittens are drawing a great deal of attention because they are cute and fuzzy, but I've been around long enough to know that they grow into cats. When I asked Mindy what she was going to do with her cat and kittens I was told "they are my problem anymore, you and Mom can figure it out". My proposed solutions have been determined by my wife, remaining three children and the SPCA to be illegal and immoral and one sister-in-law and some nieces would probably stop talking to me.
I am resigned to be up to my privates in kittens and boxes of "stuff". I wonder what would happen, if the parents were to leave and the children were left behind. Maybe that is why couples serve missions.
I have probably mentioned that time seems to go faster the older I get and I know this is an old cliché we hear often. I have however found it to be true. I used to think that as more of your children leave home the easier it gets to have the next one go, but to me it just hammers home the fact that they do grow up and leave. One universal truth is that by the time they leave you are most likely ready for them to go, it just seems like it's time. Not that you do not like them anymore but they seem to get stuck if they stay home too long.
There is one big drawback to having a child leave home and that is that they leave things behind. My dear wife spent two or three weeks sorting out a storage room only to find that the vast majority of the room's contents belong to children who no longer live at home. I suggested doing what her mother did when she left home and that is just send the boxes of "stuff" to them as Christmas presents. It is with fond memories that my wife recounts getting a large box from UPS around Christmas from her mother. She was slightly deflated when she opened it to find it full of her "stuff" from when she was a kid. I did see the same box during the recent sorting frenzy and it still contains my wife's childhood "stuff". The daughter who left us today left behind more than boxes of "stuff", she left behind a cat and five new kittens. I do not know what the heck we are supposed to do with them. Presently the kittens are drawing a great deal of attention because they are cute and fuzzy, but I've been around long enough to know that they grow into cats. When I asked Mindy what she was going to do with her cat and kittens I was told "they are my problem anymore, you and Mom can figure it out". My proposed solutions have been determined by my wife, remaining three children and the SPCA to be illegal and immoral and one sister-in-law and some nieces would probably stop talking to me.
I am resigned to be up to my privates in kittens and boxes of "stuff". I wonder what would happen, if the parents were to leave and the children were left behind. Maybe that is why couples serve missions.
