The Nest Is Emptying

This nest is empty. Our is getting close.

After an excellent weekend that I documented in the previous two posts, it was back to reality. Reality was clearly irritated with the good time we enjoyed and as a result, has served up a heaping help of beat-down this week. P.S. It's only Wednesday. Yay, me!

Let's not dwell on that. Let's dwell on other things. Like the emptying of the nest that is our rapidly evolving home life. The Boy will shortly be winding up his high school career and heading to university for the summer. See what I did there? What's missing? The word 'graduation.' Not happening here in the Den. Now lest you think The Boy is not graduating, he most assuredly is! He just won't be donning the cap and gown and trudging across a stage to snatch his diploma and pose for a cheesy picture with his principal. For that very reason, the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I found ourselves in the Principal's Office today.

Since Mother Nature decided to unload on us this winter and our school district decided to have a snow day about once a week, the school year has been ex-TEN-DED. Graduation has been postponed until the Friday The Boy is scheduled to move into his dorm. Guess who won't be at graduation...So we had to sit down with the principal, a guidance counselor, and another member of the guidance team today to work out getting The Boy out of school a few days early. Apparently, this was something of an unusual request. We had to walk them through the particulars of a university summer term (that was odd) and how best to accommodate his final exams. They really were good about it and it looks like we have it all set. I was glad it didn't take an agonizingly long time as being in the Principal's Office was a tad disconcerting. Well, for me, at least. Perhaps it brought back some memories of sit-downs with my high school principal. We won't speak of it.

All this talk of The Boy's departure got me focused, unwillingly, on the fact that our nest is going to be empty sooner than we think. It's going to be really different around here. And not in a bad way, for sure. It's just going to be very different. The stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I will find ways to fill the emptiness, of that I am certain. That's going to be fun. That said, still get a little sad thinking about the fact that we will be empty-nesters. Don't I need an AARP card or to be on a testosterone replacement regimen to be an empty-nester? FYI - I'm not ready for either.