Saturday, August 6, 2011

Our genes make us immortal. ~ The Secret of Life, PBS

So far I've spent my morning doing my grocery shopping a little after 6.  Then doing some little chores that I never seem to find the time for during the week.  Like taking a broom and zeroing in on a bothersome cricket who's been chirp chirp chirping in the grass near my neighbor Donna's fence.  How can a cricket chirp 24 hours a day?  I 'swept the grass'  --  gently  --  and it stopped.  Then I stood there and listened for a few moments and all was quiet.  I've been waking up in the middle of the nite and, even with the fan in the bedroom going and the hum of the AC unit outside, little Mr./Ms. Cricket has been cranking away.  Dear Hubby thought it was the fan beginning to make noise but I told him no...it's the cricket.

My daughter-in-law is coming by around 11 am and the two of us are going over to my daughter's apartment to spend the afternoon helping her get settled.  We all pitched in last weekend and actually got her moved but with working full time she hasn't had much time to get organized yet.  I spent some time filling up the back of my pick up truck this morning with the boxes and bins that didn't fit into the U-Haul truck last week.  I can not believe someone who hasn't been out on her own for years can have so much STUFF.  But she does.  And she purged 23 big garbage bags and numerous boxes of books before we moved here from Portland.  I'm bringing along a box of big garbage bags today, too.  Maybe we can help her purge some more.  Her apartment has two bedrooms and a nice storage area off the kitchen...but even with that we're going to be hard-pressed to find room for everything that she has. 

Am I suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome?  Not at all.  The first couple of days she was gone felt kind of strange, but mostly I'm thrilled for her to be able to be on her own.  She'd had one disastrous experience moving in with a friend several years ago.  Came back home to get herself squared away.  Then couldn't afford to rent an apartment in Portland on her own.  She's lived with us ever since.  But here in Michigan she's found her apartment for $635 per month and with the income tax here several percentage points lower than the income tax in Oregon, she should be able to make it just fine.  It's been 35 years since Dear Hubby and I have had our house to ourselves.  It feels good. 

It feels wonderful.

It's good to know both of our children are on their own and I can finally let the apron strings go completely.  As I told her, I never have been one to hold on to those strings tightly anyway.  When my son got married I told my daughter-in-law, "He's yours now".  And I meant it.  And now our daughter's on her own.  We'll be here for them if they need us, but Dear Hubby and I are more than ready for whatever time we have left to be just the two of us. 

Alone.

4 comments:

Betty W said...

Good for you. I think your daughter will be happy on her own too. I´m happy for her.
Isn´t it great the quiet, after everyone leaves and it´s just you and hubby? I love it.

Rob-bear said...

Food shopping at 6:00 a.m.? I'm not sure anyone does that around here. But one never quite knows these days.
Good way to "take care" of a cricket. I wish I had thought of that years ago.
And you've got the place to yourself. Oh, my. Rattling around in all that empty space. I does take a bit of time to re-settle, but it's usually "a good thing," as you have been discovering. Good for you.

Anonymous said...

We too are settling in to being just us 2 again!! After 36 years. My youngest too alone; spouses not easy to find these days.

LC said...

Enjoy! It is great being a couple and enjoying your grwon children's independence!