Monday, March 10, 2014

The Empty Nest

As I have mentioned before, the nest is empty here. Wally and Theodore are now living on their own.

Wally and Theo long before they left the nest.
This is not the first time that Wally and Theo have been gone. At various times they have both been away at college at the same time. But this time is different. This time I think it's going to take. Wally has a job good enough to support himself and Theo is making plans for when he finishes school that don't involve coming back home.

And what do Ward and I think about this? We're glad because it looks like we've succeeded in raising independent, responsible, contributing members of society. Sometimes we weren't so sure this would happen. Like the time Theo refused to go to school because he thought he already knew it all. Or the time Wally flooded the house with the garden hose. Or the time when Theo started a fire at school during the electricity unit. Or the time Wally wouldn't do his homework because he thought it was too boring. Or the time the teacher called. Or the time the other teacher called. Or the next time another teacher called... But you know what? Just like all of the older and wiser people told us, it will work out. And it did. Thank goodness.

After a few tears on my part, we are adjusting to a quieter house. We're enjoying not having to figure out a schedule with the cars. We like it that now we can keep food in the house. (In case you haven't heard, young males eat a LOT.) We are also trying to keep quiet as Wally and Theo are figuring out things in the big world by themselves. I'm having a hard time with not offering too many opinions (some would call it nagging, I call it being a mother), but I'm working on it.

We know that there are ups and downs to everyone's life and Wally or Theodore may boomerang right back here. But for now both parents and children are enjoying the right of passage that is the empty nest.

In the essence of Full Disclosure, the nest is not really empty if you count our four needy (kneady - get it?) cats. :)