Up Close and (un)Conventional Bookish Babble
Welcome to this week’s Up Close and (un)Conventional Bookish Babble. This is where we discuss whatever we feel like. It can be something about books or the bookish community, or it can be about something else entirely!
I know that some of you may be past the empty nest stage and some of you may be nowhere close to it, but I wanted to share some things I’ve learned now that I’m ~4 months into empty nesting. Some of these things are serious and some are tongue-in-cheek…I hope you enjoy!
- Always, but always, go with the biggest meal plan for your teenage boy! Otherwise you’ll be sending more money to supplement his food budget. 😉
- Set a weekly date (or bi-weekly) to talk to you child(ren) as you probably WON’T hear from them any other time.
- Find something you can text to your kids to let them know you’re thinking of them but not nagging for an update. I send silly jokes every few days and Jax says they’re the highlight of his day when he gets them. 🙂
- Your house stays so neat and clean without teenagers in it. I’ve especially noticed how it doesn’t stay that way since they’ve been home for the holiday break. 😉
- The weekly grocery bill decreased significantly after my son went to college – even if I had to send extra money for food!
- Despite having vast quantities of spare time now I still can’t figure out a way to schedule it where I’m more productive.
- I’ve enjoyed spending more time doing things with my husband and/or on hobbies that I didn’t make time for when my falls were filled with band commitments.
- Nine weeks is too long to go without seeing my kids. It was like going cold turkey!
- The biggest surprise is that even though I couldn’t wait to have them home for the holidays it was a little disruptive. I’m not used to them being around and they’re not used to being accountable to their parents anymore. It’s taking some adjusting.
- My husband says this is the new normal. We get used to them being gone and then they come home!
About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.
so this is something that I can look forward to in 19 years? I don’t mind the clean house XD
That sounds about right. 🙂
I am right there with you. My daughter is in the middle of her first year of college and my oldest is 25. This is the first time in our lives that it is just me and my husband at home. We do supplement the food budget but I knew that would be the case since my daughter has Celiac disease and must eat a special diet. My daughter is a music major and while I love to hear her play, I do not miss the band stuff from high school. It was too much. We tend to go from a silent house to absolute crazy because when my daughter is home all of her friends come over and fill my house. I like the quiet and I like when she’s home. I think that she has the biggest adjustment during those home visits.
Maybe I will get more reading in this year 🙂
Well done you! My sentiments exactly. You miss them terribly, then you wonder when they are returning to college. And they (rather loudly) announce their presence and their independence while asking if would mind doing their laundry and filling their gas tank. 🙂 Seriously, my college student is amazing and actually grateful – it’s lovely to watch her find her voice and her way.
I’m both looking forward to and dreading an empty nest, That said my youngest (#4) is 14 and my oldest (#1) is 23 and still lives at home, but #2 is in her last year of high school and will be going to university a four hour drive away. At this point it seems unimaginable.
Great tips! My eldest is a sophomore in HS… so soon I’ll be experiencing some of this (I have a younger daughter, so not quite empty!)
Twitter: BerlsS
Reading this just hit me just how opposite our worlds are. You’re finishing up and I’m just starting. And yet both are such huge adjustments. The meal plan is a tip I might need you to remind in me about in 18-19 years : P You’re husband is so right – new normal! Sounds like you’re rocking it too!