We are three weeks into the kids both being gone for the summer. I have to admit, it is flying by. Only a couple of times have I missed the kids. I circled around their rooms while cleaning and putting away clothes and smiled at how clean their rooms can be when they aren't in them, destroying them. I did get a little teary-eyed when I anticipated a conversation that I will have to have about someone asking how the kids are doing (now granted this conversation won't happen until the end of July, but it's never too early to practice). All in all, so far so good.
Sean and I took a little trip about a month ago sans children to see how it would be traveling without them. It was nice not having to fuss with the extra luggage, tickets, and bathroom hunts in the middle of crowded airports. Sean and I didn't fight over who would get ready in the bathroom first, who's turn it was to share a meal with mom or what we wanted to do next.
We decided (Sean was looking out for me) to take a trip driving up the West Coast of Florida to see what we could see.
It was so much fun. We stopped in Sanibel to pick up a couple of shells and had some wonderful seafood everywhere we went. We tried to stop in Clearwater, but Friday at 6pm isn't the time to sight see there. Everybody and their brother was there. I kept telling Sean that this was not what I remembered. Where was the sleepy little beach that you used to go to when you wanted to avoid the crowds of Daytona? He had to keep reminding me that things change in 25+ years.
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| Just a small sample of some of the wonderful seafood we had. I even got to shuck my own oysters! |
Now this wasn't just a trip for fun, we did do a little work while we were there. Sean was checking out business opportunities. I had been trying to tell him you don't have to be a 60-year-old retiree to move to Florida. Once we finished up in Cedar Key we were left with a couple of days before we were going to stop in and surprise my mom with a visit. So we decided to really test ourselves. We knew that this would be a biggie, but we were willing to put ourselves out there for the sake of the kids. We wanted them to feel confident that Mom and Dad would be okay without them. So we did what any responsible, concerned parents would do. We went to Disney. We figured if we could go to Disney without the kids and still have a good time, we would be all right.
We just happened to time it right for the Flower and Garden event in EPCOT. This was going to be a special treat. I would be able to spend a couple of days in EPCOT just staring at all the topiaries, and no one would be acting like they would rather poke their eyes out and eviscerate themselves right there in the middle of the UK pavilion.
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| We some how even had a good time on Lauren's favorite ride. |
Sean and I were so proud of ourselves. We did it. There was no moping, no sad faces, and no wishing the kids were there (okay, maybe a little wishing they were there :)). All in all, it was a success! We did it! This empty nest thing is going to be okay. We did a good job. We have raised two wonderful kids who are well prepared for adulthood, and we can definitely smile about that.
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| Who's afraid of an empty nest? Not these guys! |
