<p>With just one child left at home now hus. and I find ourselves dreaming of impending feedom next year when last goes off to college. Our plans include a visit to Las Vegas to visit oldest child who has a job transfer there, spending a month visiting our daughter’s family who has a new house and grandchild in Florida, taking a weekend here and there away. We never did any of these things and am so excited to finally have some child freedom.As many of you know this last year with sooo many college visits, planning, tests, applications, etc. has been stressful! It’s like everything is finally coming together.The house is the way it should be, or it’s good enough! The kids are growing up and have their own life and… although I was always supermom, I 'm not even jealous of the young families in our close knit community.The real telling point was when, suddenly, after over 20 years fo Christmas decoration obsession, they did not matter anymore! It’s like I 'm ready for the change! So excited!</p>
<p>Whoowhee. DH and I have just been married since 2003, and have been surrounded by teenagers our whole marriage in a bungalow-style house with a hall running down the center of the house, bedrooms all around us. Love those kids! And are we looking forward to the empty nest?? Let there be NO Doubt!</p>
<p>That’s great! And sooo great to keep that bungalow, just the right size once they are on their own. And they do go. I just had a kind of shocked feeling when Thanksgiving was over and all the kids left. It was the feeling, thanks for the meal, I gave you this time, now I must be going and go on with my life! It was shocking to me, but okay and nice!</p>
<p>When my older kid was finishing high school, I thought being an empty-nester would be awful. Now the younger one is set to finish in June, and I’m eager for this new phase. I tell everyone that I can do selfish and materialistic! Seriously, I think it will be a real golden age for my husband and me, and our friends. Lots of interests, sufficient income to pursue many of them, good health (knock on wood) and we’re not too feeble yet! What are you guys dreaming of doing??</p>
<p>My dd recently asked my H and me, with true concern in her voice, what we will do when she’s in college, and we are left with only the other child (whom my dd describes as the “mute one”) and “so much more free time” on our hands. We tried to let her down easily by keeping straight faces, then telling her that, yes, we will miss her, but we will find plenty to do- not to worry!;)</p>
<p>Ummmm yeah. This is one of the biggest advantages for us in having our kids when we were so young! We still will have 2 at home, but we are seeing it coming soon rather than just some foggy notion of “some day”… </p>
<p>my dd refers to me as a blubbering mass of goo when i picked her up at the airport for thanksgiving. I still have a hs senior at home and a sophomore, so the freedom is around the corner and having only 1 next year compared to 5 is SCARY. just thinking about it makes me blubber!</p>
<p>Kat, my DH feels your pain. I’m with backhand–ready for the decade of freedom before grandkids <em>reminds herself to say a rosary that it is a decade</em>, but DH is a stoic statue of nostalgic goo. We have a year before S2 leaves for Gap Year and then Uni.</p>