My husband and I received news today that our youngest child was approved for her first apartment. If the coronavirus did not already present itself, and all of us, with a host of emotions, now we are sorting emotions which come with this milestone and right of passage.
People keep asking: How do you feel about it? Honestly, I have no idea. I kept asking myself the same thing. Do I feel sad? Sort of. Partly, because I will miss her presence in our home, obviously, as I do all of our kids. Part of me questions if it is sadness I feel. I think society expects me to feel sadness, but I am questioning how I actually feel, maybe for the first time in my life. If I really think about it, honestly, I am indifferent. It is not because I wont miss her, but because my husband and I have earned this place in our lives as much as she has. We raised self-sufficient women and now it’s time for my husband and I to enjoy being a couple. We’ll always be parents, and this will always be home.
Tonight, we celebrate. Not our FINALLY being empty nesters, but we celebrate our achievements as parents, the love and support we’ve created in this family and the role models we hope we are to our daughters and grandchildren.