Good morning! My post today is about finally being an empty nester! Last year about this time, my daughter married a wonderful man (no grandkids yet) and I was so happy for them. This year, my big news is that my son has finally moved out of our home.
I happen to be one of those parents who is more than ready for this change. My son (bless his heart) was my problem child. He had a very long path to getting his act together with first finding a stable job, then attending college part time, then full time in order to obtain his nursing degree. Mind you, I’m extremely proud of what he’s accomplished (even if it did take him a very long time) and am thrilled he took after me in going into nursing. In fact, he is an awesome nurse and often receives accolades from his patients and coworkers. Here's a picture of me putting his RN pin on!
Yet what is it with young people these days? When I was his age, I was already married and living on my own. Not that I think he’s ready for marriage, sigh. But still, I moved out the moment I graduated from nursing school, even before I was married. Lived on my own for several years before I met and married my husband. Always strove to be independent from my parents.
Not so much with my son, and I from what I’m hearing I’m not alone. For the past year my son has been living with us and working full time, helping out on occasion but not very driven to get a place of his own. I mean, come on. He’s twenty-eight years old! Frankly I had to give him an ultimatum earlier this year, move out by fall or get kicked out. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? I love him, but how is he ever going to be independent, meet a nice girl and live his own life if he continues staying with us?
The shocker in all of this is that once he found a small house ideal for him, he grew very excited about the whole process. He learned all about buying a house and owning a home. He managed his own mortgage process, insurance, and utilities. He closed on his new place August 16thand is now officially all moved in. Here's Jon standing outside his new house.
The house is quieter now with less dirty dishes lying around, and I miss hearing about how his work shifts are going. But I don’t’ miss having him here. Does that make me a bad parent? I hope not. I hope this is my way of setting him up for success.
So what do you think? Happy Empty Nester? Or would you prefer to live with your young adults? I’m interested to hear what others have gone through.
Oh, and if you are interested in a sweet romance story, To Believe, the fifth book in my McNally series is available for preorder now, on sale as of Sept. 1st.
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We're empty nesters too. Kids both were home for a while between high school and college and then after college. It was hard because they wanted to be treated like adults yet reverted back to kids. And I reverted back to mom. Now they both live elsewhere and we see them occasionally. I miss them but I also am enjoying just the two of us. We take more walks and I can now travel with my hubby--except I do have to find dog sitters because of course we got a puppy as soon as the kids left. That seems to be the trend with empty nesters that I've talked to. LOL
ReplyDeleteTerri, this is so funny because I have been thinking about a puppy! Although both my son and my daughter may be getting dogs too, so I may have to open my own doggie day care, lol. Thanks or stopping by...Laura
DeleteWonderful post, Laura. I'm not an empty nester yet since I still have a 16 year old. But I do know what it's like to have an adult child living in your home. My daughter is 23 and graduated roughly a year ago. It was a rough year for her looking for a job but she did get a really great one in New York City and she still lives with us and commutes. Congrats to your son for getting his RN degree and for making such a huge life decision as buying his own home. That's where the fun begins!! I wish I'd known you were an RN, Laura, because I just wrote a heroine who is an RN and I had serious questions lol. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteHi Belle, you can contact me any time with questions always happy to help! Your turn to be an empty nester will come. I cried like a baby getting my daughter off to college, but once Jon was here for so long, I couldn't wait to get him off on his merry way. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteJust sent my oldest back to college! I feel like college is a soft launch to get us used to them being gone.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherri, for sure college is a soft launch, and I totally cried when I dropped my daughter off at her freshman dorm. But by the time Jon graduated and hung around for almost a year, I was more than happy to have him move on. Thanks for stopping by. Laura
DeleteCongrats to your son and his new house. He needed a little extra Mom and Dad time before he was ready to face the world on his own. I'm sure he'll do well with all the love you provided.
ReplyDeleteHi Debby, I sure hope I helped provide him with what he needed. And he knows we are still here for him. We stopped by last week Friday and I had to laugh when he told me he turned his air conditioning off and opened the windows to save money. Mind you he always wanted the air on here, lol. He'll do great. Thanks for stopping by. Laura
DeleteHi Laura, love your story....as much as I love your books! Jon is gonna be ok, and you can write more books for us! lol Already preordered your next book!
ReplyDeleteBlessings~~