Omlet cube and run

[Cinnamon]

The youngest has just put a deposit down on a room in Reading, & is moving out,at the tender age of 18.

With the eldest already gone (well, at Uni), it means my nest is now empty & a new & hopefully exciting part of my life can begin

I am looking forward to more freedom ,more money, fewer bills, but will miss having the noise & bustle of a proper family in this house.

It might take a little bit of getting used to!

[Olly]

I hope it brings lots of new opportunities.

 

It must seem strange at first, but I recall my brother saying when his adult children moved out 'it's amazing .... I go to the fridge, and it's still full of food!'

[Princess Leia]

it's amazing .... I go to the fridge, and it's still full of food!'

 

Exactly what we said when YS moved out last November (following his brother who had gone a year before). Took us ages to get used to catering for two again, overbought everything on the shopping list for a while. Kept having to throw away stuff that was well out of date.

[pips_pekins]

Oh Cinnamon, we have this looming as well as DS is off to uni in September, if he gets the grades he needs and we have been saying the same thing. Hope her move goes well; bet she is really excited. I seem to remember when your ED went to uni and you bought her lots of bits and pieces to start her off. Expect you will be doing that again which will be fun.

 

Wishing you all lots of happy times and, as Olly has already said, lots of opportunities.

 

'it's amazing .... I go to the fridge, and it's still full of food!'

 

Have to say given that DS and nearly all his mates are huge rugby players, this is one aspect I am really looking forward to. At the moment it is usually a case of 'hmm, see you've left me and your dad nothing again'

 

Also, I will miss the damp towels strewn across the bathroom floor, the smelly socks and muddy rugby kit and his gym gear that remains forgotten for days at a time in a bag, despite constant reminders. I will miss the fact that some days I can barely see the kitchen worktops for the crumbs and spills and dirty dishes or come home to a nice cup of tea only to find he has finished the milk... better stop now as I need to start packing for him

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I have an empty nest most of the time now (they are both away at Stirling Uni) and have to say I'm surprised how much I like it . YS comes home a lot as it's only an hour away, which is lovely but the thing I really notice is how little washing up there is when he's not here. And we never run out of milk . ES doesn't come so much as he lives in a flat rather than halls but it's so nice when he does come as he's totally house-trained now and is such good company .

 

I don't think I'll like it when they both move out for good though .

[chickencam]

My eldest is at uni and we weirdly don't really miss her when she is away, it is lovely to see her when she comes home, but we were getting under each other's feet after she had been back for a month over Easter. The summer will be weird having her around for 3 months, although she is talking about spending some of the summer in her flat in Bristol where she will live next year, because she has the lease from the end of June.

[Luvachicken]

My nest has been empty since last september

One is at uni, the other in Australia for a year - I missed him at Christmas.

I kind of miss them both in a way, but sometimes I don't - not sure that really makes sense.

 

I'm sure new things will come your way and fill your time up.

You could always fill your nest with more chickens

[Patricia W]

My experience with mine in their 30's is that they always come back..... especially if the bank of Mum and Dad is needed!

 

Seriously, it's just a new phase in the relationship so enjoy ( I still cook for 6 though- even when there are just two of us. I think portion control is the hardest part.)

[Willow]

I'm trying to get the hang of portion size now, I realised I was eating much the same for dinner as teenage boys and that might have something to do with the weight gain I'll be the size of a barrage balloon when they go if I don't make sure I buy and cook less

 

I'm dreading my boys leaving as I like being mum I have told them I'll probably replace them with a dog

[Purplemaniacs]

My house is often empty too. DS lives with his girlfriend and DD has her own home and 2 girls and now the baby makes three

 

It is lovely at the moment as she is staying here a lot so I can help with baby and older girls. It is great having the house buzzing again and having to cook proper meals

 

Oh is away most of the week so normally I am on my own in the week.

 

When DD gets into a routine and is at her home all the time I will find the house very quiet again.

 

I am so glad we have two dogs without them I would hate it.

 

Chrissie

[Chicken deficient]

Speaking from the part of the guilty party, I'll say they'll probably be back!

My father likes living alone, so when I descended back on him again in my late 20s, with one dog and one boyfriend and then five rats, he was ecstatic. Now we only stay there from time to time, with, last time, two dogs, one three year old and a poorly chicken

 

One of my sisters still lives at home with my mother at nearly 30, (with hubby to be), and the other only moved out a few weeks ago, having returned from uni a good few years ago.

 

I can't even bear to think about my little boy leaving - I miss him terribly if I don't see him for a few hours, but I'm sure there will come a time...

[Chickendoodle]

I can't even bear to think about my little boy leaving - I miss him terribly if I don't see him for a few hours, but I'm sure there will come a time...

 

I miss my girls being little (they are now 25 & 27) but I don't miss them being teenagers. I couldn't bear the thought of them leaving up to the age of 13/14 or so but after that it became a bit less upsetting to think of it.

 

We are now in a different phase as it is now an adult relationship which is lovely as well, coming over for dinner, meeting up for coffee etc.

 

Roll on grandchildren when the cycle will start again

[Ain't Nobody Here]

My YS is home from Uni now (only exams to sit, no lectures). You wouldn't know it though, he's still asleep .

[bluekarin]

I couldn't bear the thought of them leaving up to the age of 13/14 or so but after that it became a bit less upsetting to think of it.

 

I feel the same way, but I am sure I will miss them when they finally all go. I think it will be my eldest who I will worry about the most with her various medical problems, but I am sure it will be the best thing for her. I think my son will be ok and as for my youngest daughter, I dread to think of what she will get up to

[Cinnamon]

Well, we have the keys & have just been to see the room in the house.

The room itself is sweet - its lovely & dry & really cosy.

The rest of the house is a little grubby...................

 

It is on Cemetery Junction, where Ricky Gervais used to live, & where he made the movie about

 

I will admit to a bit of a wobble this afternoon when she signed the lease - it seems so much responsibility for someone who can't even remember to put her knickers in the wash

Still, this is what she wants & it will make an adult out of her.

 

We have made a regular date for lunch in town once a week too

[The Dogmother]

it seems so much responsibility for someone who can't even remember to put her knickers in the wash

Still, this is what she wants & it will make an adult out of her.

 

Perhaps I should move Rosie out!

 

Wish her good luck.

[Ms Marple]

Welcome to the next phase of your life. I love it when mine come home. ES now works in London and YS is still at uni in Birmingham. I hate it when they go and am rubbish at goodbyes, I still cry so I try not to do the station run etc. However, in between all that I love my space, even if the house is far too big! I miss them but they are good at phoning and I feel so proud. Every so often I would love to go back in time.....but not for too long! Enjoy yourself.xxx

[Willow]

I will admit to a bit of a wobble this afternoon when she signed the lease - it seems so much responsibility for someone who can't even remember to put her knickers in the wash

Still, this is what she wants & it will make an adult out of her.

 

Part of what will make letting my boys easier is I know they need to grow up and moving out and managing by themselves is an important part of that. My ES is in yr12 and the thought of him having to work out washing/shopping etc for himself seems such a long way away but the reality is he isn't going to learn until he has to do it for himself.

 

We have made a regular date for lunch in town once a week too

 

This is the one of the ways when we know we're getting parenting right. The things that show we're in a nice smooth transition to an adult relationship with our children. I feel like my transition to an adult relationship with my parents was bumpy - my mum will still tell me off at 49 for trivial things that I would feel my ES at 16 is too old for me to reprimand him

[Seagazer]

Sounds lovely to me

 

DD moved out last year but comes home a couple of weekends a month (handy for us as she's available to pet sit) and DS1 always moans and says 'I thought she'd moved out'! He's 22 and desperate to move out, he really does want to be independent but is on a ridiculously low wage. He says when he goes that's it, he's not ever moving back in. DD is moving to Amsterdam to work for 6 months in September so will give up her rented flat and then move back in with us afterwards until she can buy somewhere.

 

I don't mind if they move out, I think as long as they can feed themselves they'll figure everything else out. I just hope that the next time DD moves out she actually takes all her things with her. It doesn't look like she's left at all in her bedroom *ahem* I mean the spare bedroom

[Patricia W]

Seagazer, Your hopes she will take her belongings with her may be dashed. My experience is they always leave some of their stuff behind, saying " I'll have x when y happens - don't throw it away" And so, it stays forever........

[Ain't Nobody Here]

You're so right. My mum's house has 2 bedrooms full of my brother's junk (he is 54 ). I fully intend to chuck it all in the garage shortly .

[Chook n Boo Mum]

You're so right. My mum's house has 2 bedrooms full of my brother's junk (he is 54 ). I fully intend to chuck it all in the garage shortly .

 

...with the door open and a large "for sale" of "ftgh" sign propped up nearby

 

My 2 are away at boarding school but home every weekend (unless they get a better offer )......and I fully understand the mixed feelings of missing them desperately but getting under each others feet when they are home for holidays...life changes ...I am so NOT looking forward to the next step of Uni if I'm brutally honest tho

 

My sis, hubs & nephew all live with mum & dad....never ever ever would that happen with me moving back in...I love my parents, but live with mum again....no no no no no! It was a decision I was not privy to until after the event, so it's their bed, they can lie in it...and come & see me for some respite ...my sis & I are very different...her white carpets & pristine, me not so, and heaving with animals & chooks....my sis rarely visits

 

Good luck with the new phase Sarah x

[chickencam]

I left a few bits at my parents's house when I bought a small furnished studio flat when I was 19 a year later I moved down here with my now hubby and the night before the van was due to take my belongings down to my new home, my dad arrived with a hired van, they had no car at that stage, and the rest of my bits from their house. I was a bit shocked at the time but I think that it was he right thing to do, they didn't entirely approve of my new life so I think that had a bearing on their decision.

[The Dogmother]

When I moved out, all my worldly belongings fitted into a small van.. there's no way they would do that now!

 

I have to say though that I cleared everything out when I went.

[laurmurf]

Hey Seagazer, my DD (the Lurker) is about to move to the Netherlands too; to work and live with her lovely cloggie bf and to make music. She too is leaving the contents of her first 21 years behind in a still messy bedroom!

 

My darling children mock me as I have cried each and every time I've stuck one on a train or dropped one off in halls... Being a mum brings out whatever is good in me and I don't know who I am without a child or 4 around. I'm dreading my DSs moving on next year!