As of June 21, 2015, my wife and I became empty-nesters. We married off the last of our two daughters to a very nice guy, which followed by nearly five years the evacuation of her older sister to the joys of marriage, again to a very nice guy.
The literature indicates that many parents facing this milestone in life find it unendurable and search out the nearest bridge from which to make a flying leap. So far, the adjustment for us has not been quite that intense, though we did moon about for the first week or so. My wife took it pretty hard and even I was less stoic than I had expected.
We both know that there will be certain traditions and rhythms that will change by not having the kids around as much. I imagine there will be fewer Chipotle Fridays and evenings of riotous dinner banter. But we'll adjust.
My wife, a wise person, has sensibly made it a point to establish some new traditions. We will go out to eat at least once a week, spend more time with friends, try to make new friends (a thought that makes me cringe), and be more open to last minute spontaneous activities. Things like that should help fill the void of fewer Erica and Natalie encounters.
Of course I had big plans. Two vacant bedrooms to work with. My vision was a music studio in one and a writing room in the other. Unfortunately, those bedrooms remain fully occupied by our kids' stuff for the indefinite future, so that means that neither my wife nor I can repurpose those spaces more effectively.
In the end, I guess we are all better off. Erica and Natalie are off to a great start in the more permanent parts of their lives, and Micky and I can return to the days of pre-kid bliss that we enjoyed for a decade before becoming model parents.
Still, the eerie silence of our Gone Girls will probably still be an issue every now and then. In which case, maybe the best move is to turn up the music a little louder and make the martinis a little colder.
The literature indicates that many parents facing this milestone in life find it unendurable and search out the nearest bridge from which to make a flying leap. So far, the adjustment for us has not been quite that intense, though we did moon about for the first week or so. My wife took it pretty hard and even I was less stoic than I had expected.
We both know that there will be certain traditions and rhythms that will change by not having the kids around as much. I imagine there will be fewer Chipotle Fridays and evenings of riotous dinner banter. But we'll adjust.
My wife, a wise person, has sensibly made it a point to establish some new traditions. We will go out to eat at least once a week, spend more time with friends, try to make new friends (a thought that makes me cringe), and be more open to last minute spontaneous activities. Things like that should help fill the void of fewer Erica and Natalie encounters.
Of course I had big plans. Two vacant bedrooms to work with. My vision was a music studio in one and a writing room in the other. Unfortunately, those bedrooms remain fully occupied by our kids' stuff for the indefinite future, so that means that neither my wife nor I can repurpose those spaces more effectively.
In the end, I guess we are all better off. Erica and Natalie are off to a great start in the more permanent parts of their lives, and Micky and I can return to the days of pre-kid bliss that we enjoyed for a decade before becoming model parents.
Still, the eerie silence of our Gone Girls will probably still be an issue every now and then. In which case, maybe the best move is to turn up the music a little louder and make the martinis a little colder.
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