A Two-Shower Day

It may only be "slingtime" on the calendar, as the Blue-Eyed Boy would say, but deep in the heart of Texas it is already hotter than Phoenix. The day was full of car washing, yard mowing, fence building, garden hoeing, prompting the second shower of the day.

One of the glitches I have observed over the years of growing Empty-Nested-ness is that life continues. I once had delusions that when there were no more children to take care of, there would be little to no work to be done. Wrong assumption. What has happened instead is that the daily care keeps on.

Out of the mouths of babes as C once observed, "Mom, life is just one big maintenance job." The only things that have noticeably declined are laundry and kitchen work, neither of which has ever been a problem for me. Those two chores do themselves. But, oh, the others...! Dust still accumulates, grass still grows, paperwork still multiplies, spiders still spin their webs, errands still must be done in vehicles that still need every manner of attention.

Dailiness goes on...only now there is no one to delegate to...

The Countdown...

...is on. Only 10...9...8...7...6...5...4 weeks and 3...2 days until... until what? A new life? Drastic change?

This is R-Day coming up, in which the Empty Nest becomes the new reality. With 13 years between the first child and the last, the Empty Nest isn't exactly new around here. But this now, is the real thing.

For better or for worse, the Empty Nest will be official that day. It's not going to be a total change. Thanks to the last two years of CTC, Speech Forensics, and a few other such time-takers, we have experienced the luxury of a gradual, leisurely weaning from the last remnants of this world of life-consuming parenthood. And of course the last almost four years have held the frequent presence of the Blue-Eyed Boy, who thinks he is not only my kid, but my "only kid."

But whatever~Good, bad, or indifferent, life will never be the same.