Two weeks ago today, we left our youngest daughter to fend for herself in the big city and drove home to Ottawa…with my eyes leaking for the first half of our six-hour trip. 😛 How have I adapted to our empty nest since then? I’m glad you asked. 😉
What I miss most: The most common phrase in our house these days is, “This is weird,” generally uttered as either hubby or I stop in the middle of a mundane task to look at the other in a somewhat shell-shocked manner. We’ve had at least one kid in the house for almost twenty-five years, and suddenly having just the two of us again? WEIRD. And I swear there’s an echo in the place that wasn’t there before. sigh
What I could get used to: On the upside, it’s fun to have a little more spontaneity in our lives again. While youngest is technically an adult, she’s still our kid, and so she factored into many of our plans when she was here: what movie to see, when we would invite friends over for dinner, whether we stayed out late or not. Being just the two of us again may be WEIRD, but I think it might be growing on me. Plus, it is rather nice to have a just-cleaned room stay clean for more than five minutes. Just sayin’. 😉
What will take a bit of work to get used to: New routines. Because I work from home, I’ve built my entire life around the presence of someone else in the house all day, every day. Being alone (not counting the animals) is…well, yes, WEIRD. I’m experimenting with different schedules right now, to see what works best for me. It’s more difficult than you’d think. 😛
What I’m still not doing: Walking. grumble The knee injury I managed to incur just before moving daughter is taking its sweet time healing, and winter weather conditions aren’t helping. I’ve been given the all-clear to resume my walks (although not on the 9-kilometres a day scale that I was at before 😛 ), but I’m only managing a half-hour every other day right now. Neither Giant Dog nor I are very impressed. (And apparently patience isn’t one of my greatest virtues. 😉 )
What I am doing: Writing! Every day. I’ve made serious progress on my story for the new Radish app, and I’ve just had a pitch approved by a publisher for a new book! It’s something wildly different for me, and I’m soooo excited. But I can’t share details with you until after the paperwork. Sorry! 😀
What I’m gearing up for: More renovation work in the house. Bum knee or not, we still have a ton of projects that need to be done around here, and I’m itching to get started again. Hubby is currently replacing the ceiling tiles in the basement’s suspended ceiling, and I’m eyeing the main bathroom, which is in need of freshening up and will only require minimal ladder work. How hard can it be, right?
Have a wonderful week, everyone! 🙂
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