I do hope that Lise knows that no matter how excited I am for the two of them to move out, that I will miss being with her everyday. It's not because she's my offspring. I'd enjoy her friendship even if she wasn't related by blood. She's the kind of person who's easy to have around. She takes an interest in what's going on, lends a hand or an ear or an opinion, is always ready to join in on an activity, knows what's going on in the world, has a great attitude, enjoys trying new things--I could go on and on.
But our house is small (no family room, no basement, no den) and we only have one shower. Our excitement is understandable, isn't it? Plus N and I had a few years of empty nest. Years that seem like eons ago. We had just begun to stretch our wings a bit. At first it felt strange, the house was full for so many years. Full of the everyday habit of synchronizing four schedules, meeting deadlines and watching friends come and go. After the strangeness was over, I began to remember what our lives were like before we made the decision to raise a family. Lovely freedom! I can still remember getting cravings for Chinese food, hopping into the car at 7:30 or 8 PM and zipping down I-5 (we lived in SW Washington) to our favorite Chinese restaurant in Portland.
These are the small things I look forward to when they have their own place; Zuzu the cat won't have to live in fear of Nixon the dog, Izzy and Nixon won't have their daily bark-fest over real or imagined threats, our guest room will be open and I'll be able to use my treadmill again. Again, all small things, especially compared to the big comfort of Lise's company.
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