Sad Times...first one flying the coop

We do play that.

Last night it was Telestrations. One person draws, the next person guesses, the next person draws what the previous guess was etc. and it ends up being a game of Telephone. We had one clue that started as "vest" and ended up as "sheep." It was a riot especially for the person who had to guess the 5-year-old's pictures.

The wife and I are definitely insisting on those nights more and more. We had to drag the teenagers off their computers against their will. But they did get into it.

As a side note, I've been told many times how "lucky" we are by current or pending empty nesters who are in the situation @qtlaw posted about. I don't know about lucky, but it is taking some of the sting out of knowing our boys will be off on their own soon.

 

Monopoly SUCKS.

 

One thing you're going to find is that, in some ways, you're going to become a far more wise/sage presence simply because you'll know how to do some such thing about which your flown-the-coop kid has no clue. How do you start charcoal? How do you hook up an old stereo? Where's the grilling marinade in the grocery store? How do you write a check?

 

Ours left last year and it went smoother than I thought. Sure, I missed him, but we talked almost every day.

His mom would get a bit jealous because he called me more, so I told her he was calling to ask for money (which he frequently did).

It's in his second year now and he is more involved with school and rushing a frat and I don't hear from him as often. That's been tough but I trust him to make good decisions.

 

You strike me as more of a Taboo fella.

 

Went through this in early August, as my son left early because he's playing small-school football.

Driving away the next morning was a little tough for Mrs. Coco and I, but after a bit of a bumpy start, he's adjusted to college life fairly well. And that has helped us adjust, too.

We do still have a 16-year-old at home who is enjoying not having to share the bathroom in the morning!

 

He's at school about 400 miles away, and last year we left Mom at home and the two of us drove up together. The car was pretty full and it was easier for her to say goodbye in the driveway than part and think about it on the eight-hour drive home.

This year, he and I drove up and mom flew in the next day and rode home with me.

 

JK

 

Eight hours for 400 miles?
That's an average of 50 mph, grandpa.

 

I'm 57, I have to stop six times to pee

 

I'm 47, and my twins will be 2 next month.
By the time they go to college, I'll be wishing I could still drive 400 miles.
Or I'll be in long-term care with Alzheimer's.
Or I'll be in the ground.

 

All the best to you and your better half , qt. Figured I would dredge this thread up detailing my experience some 6 years ago:

The Circle of Life

And to fill in some of the details between then and now.

He graduated in four years on the button (dad's wallet say thanks, good man!), had several I-phones stolen, had a car stolen, when they were having a party on the Georgia-Florida weekend, and apparently left the keys sitting out and they had some shall we say questionable characters crash the party. Amazingly, the car was recovered and he's still driving it today.

The second (and last) son started college in August 2015, so we've been empty nesters for two years. And I will tell you the Mrs. and me have adjusted to it quite nicely. No more people coming and going at hours we're unaccustomed to, noisy late nights, doors left unlocked or garage doors left open all night. When he's home from school in the summer, it's kind of like, ok, time for you to be going back now. Just joking of course--we would take either of them around as much as possible, but it's interesting how the two of us got into a nice, pleasant routine, that gets totally flipped upside down once school's out.

Never missed a move-in at the beginning of a school year until this one with my youngest this year, due to a work commitment. Was something my wife and I always wanted to and liked doing, and I'm glad I was able to do that. Just have always wondered why their apartments were on the 3rd of 3 floors every time in elevator-less complexes.

Taking the second one to school wasn't any easier than the first. That initial separation is an emotional shock to the system, at least it was for me. But, I found it got much easier and more routine with the older one as each year went by and it was more the norm for it to be moving time in mid-August.

The strangest/funniest thing to me is when the oldest graduated. It was an incredibly hectic time--both were graduating that year, he located a job in Raleigh (good man, again!), we went up to help him find a place to live, and then moved him up the next week or so. It's only 5 and 1/2 hours from home, but on the other hand, that's a pretty hard ride and not something you're just going to do for a Friday/Sunday weekend. Whereas when we were taking him to college, he was always coming home at some point--winter holidays, summer, etc., it took me probably six months until about Thanksgiving to realize we'd likely moved him away for good and there might not be any coming home to live in the same city as us again. And I say that meant in a good way, meaning that what might have been or should have been the most difficult move out didn't end up that way, I guess because of all the experiences of the previous years. I'd still take him back in town with a job around here anytime.

So for those of you struggling with lumps in the throat or streaming tears from having done this or fearing doing so, I offer the above to perhaps give some comfort that living it multiple times helps build some scar tissue that helps soothe the emotional wounds.