My Emptynest: Is It Really Empty or Are They Just on Vacation?

I was talking to my co-worker Amanda about my daughters and she asked me “is it really empty or are they just on vacation?” And it got me to thinking, would I be wrong if I changed all the locks on the doors to my home? Yes and no. You see this is the first time in my soon to be 48 years of life that I have lived alone. I absolutely love it. It is so much you can do in your home alone. No one asking moma can I have this, when will you this, how come you this, etc.

NeNe wants to come back to Texas for school, she’s extremely homesick. Gee comes over almost every day. My granddaughter Skye is still trying to plot how she is going to move in. I’ve spent a couple of weekends with Payton; she eats too much and she talks a lot, don’t know what she’s saying, but she’s talking to me.

I finally put the shower curtain back up in the “community” bathroom, only because my best friend Jo and my sister Cynthia were coming to visit. I think Gee took it as her invitation to start washing her hair over here again, NOT! I decide to take it back down this weekend. The new shower curtain makes the bathroom look more decorative, but it’s too inviting.

So do I really have my house to myself or are those two daughters really on vacation? When I was preparing the bedroom for Jo’s visit, the room NeNe occupied, I couldn’t believe all the stuff I found. NeNe had money everywhere. I attempted to clean under her bed, big mistake. I think she really was staking her claim to my bedroom I allowed her to utilize all these years. There are so many shoes boxes underneath the bed. I only looked in five boxes, two were empty, one had a book she shouldn’t have been reading in it, another one had markers, pencils and pens in it, and the other had some whatever stuff. I couldn’t go on, had to stop, that will be a project for NeNe when she comes home for Thanksgiving.

Gee fought with me tooth and nail because she didn’t want to remove her stuff from the bedroom she used to occupy. I had to threaten her (well it really wasn’t a threat, because I meant it) with changing the locks. I had already picked out some new ones at Lowes. Gee’s a slick one, I thought she moved her stuff too fast that day. I was right, I checked the closet, she stuffed everything in there. What’s up with my daughters staking claim on my property?

So do I really have an emptynest or are they on vacation? What do you think? Will I get my boarders back, temporarily or permanently? Lord I hope only NeNe comes back temporarily. I’m confident Gee will make it on her own this time, at least until she gets married. She just needs to drop that microwave attitude. Am I wrong because I love my freedom of having my house to myself? All of my utilities have gone down. I finally have a water bill under $65. Would I be wrong if I change all the locks, change the security pass code, and change both my phone numbers? Is that bad parenting or a woman that loves her own space?

I think since I’m finally living alone after almost 48 years of sharing my space, the next person I share it with should be my husband or a puppy. Those daughters of mine need to go on long term vacations. They can make it, I’ve taught them well. Rather they choose to use those skills, it’s on them. BUT I’m keeping my emptynest because it really is empty and they are not on vacation.