Our youngest graduated high school today and is going away to school out of state in a month. I always thought being an empty nester would be cool, but now that reality has set in, I'm not so sure.

Enjoy it while you can. When your wife moves your elderly MIL in, you'll long for the empty nest.

Are you nuts?

after the youngest went off to school, I wasn't in such a hurry for the oldest to get on with his life and move out.

Now I talk to him about the advantage of staying home and not paying rent.

they always come back, at least my grown ass fu-ck up stepsons do, have one here now.

My wife manages a big ole day care in town.
She doesn't have to work.
We would be perfectly fine and comforatable on my retirement.
She just likes being around young kids.
But being a empty nest couple and now having all 3 daughters grown and gone. We have probably upwards of 1.5k a month extra saved in expense,s.
3 daughters stacked 7 yrs apart going thru college and high school at the same time living at home.
Just told em all , keep your head on straight finish college and school and mom and dad will pick up the ticket from tooth paste to auto insurance.
Right now the youngest is home from college for the summer.
Everything from loads of laundry to groceries seems to have doubled.

Oh well cant really complain
They are squared away women now.
1 is a nurse captain in the army always getting tasked for TDY high profile assignments and married to a SF captain from 10th group.
Another is fixing to make captain in army MI flying UAV,s via satellite uplink taking shots.
Youngest is on a full boat ride pitching softballs in college,business major with a 4.0 going into her junior year.

But beleive me when they was all home.
The house of estrogen with 4 females was drama filled at times...

I dont miss that one bit.....

Not if you don't let 'em.

Had my in laws living with us for 2 weeks back in 08 when they moved from Maine to here looking for a house.

It was "different" to say the least and putting it kindly....

One of the benefits of being in the military back then was not having her parents or mine around all the time.

Indeed. We're going on three years of sheer bliss and my last one was as easy as they come to raise.

It sucks! I wish my daughter was 3 years old and at home!

Yeah. I just pitched Amazon's distribution start up program last night in hopes of getting rid of one more.

My wife thinks five years old is too young but this is a really bright kid we're talking about.

Our son and his wife and our beautiful grand daughter moved out a couple months ago. Esther just turned two, and we watched her grow and change over the last couple years. It was tough to see them go. We are headed to Indiana this weekend to visit with them for the first time since they moved.

My daughter has been talking about moving to Florida this summer, but now it seems those plans have cooled off a bit. I have to admit that the thought of Cathy and I bouncing around this big house without the kids around has not been pleasant. Our kids are still very welcome here. We'll do this to help them out, and I wouldn't be surprised if they move back. It's so expensive for a young couple to get on their feet these days, I feel like this is something we can do to help out.

I know some here start marking off the days on a calendar, looking forward to seeing their kids move out. We don't.

You should encourage your daughter to move to Florida.

She won't regret it.

my youngest son is 23 and has lived on his own since he was 18. always struggling . I've tried to get him to move back so he can go to school, but he won't.

You will get used to it, you will like it!!!

My thoughts exactly. When ours left I annexed their room the very next day.

Wanted to reinforce the notion that there would be no safety net in case it didn't go well for them...

Course I understand that some people actually like kids...

Now that these two are grown up, productive members of society, I love them.....but as children, not so much.

Wife and I love it, sorry to say but if the parents raise them right they won’t be back. Both my boys have very good jobs and wife and I love having all this extra money.

i have my grandson here, my daughter can't work full time and go to school to get her RN and take care of him so we do that.

After the last one left for college in 2005, 2 years before I retired, we missed them but it sure was nice around the ole homestead. Peaceful, quiet, we got to watch what we wanted to on TV, no more 'used car lot' look in front of the house, the house stayed clean, the fridge stayed full, and the food bills were cut to only ⅓ of what we were spending before and our water, electricity, and gas bills went down substantially.

My Wife has no kids. We have been empty nesters since we got married, 34 years ago, and I'm 66

LOVED every minute of it!

Virgil B.

GreatWaputi: Don't worry - they'll be back!
In fact our eldest VarmintSon and his Mrs. are here right now, for a week long vacation with us.
He lives 650 miles away and we get to see him about 3 - 4 times a year.
We are going shooting today and fishing tomorrow and sightseeing the next day.
The VarmintWife and I indeed did miss the VarmintSons once they left "the nest" for out of state colleges, but we have adjusted and are hoping for more VarmintGrandChildren.
Some say absence makes the heart grow fonder - I think there is some truth to that.
Yeah - you will get used to the quiet - I know I sure did.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Part time empty nesters going on four years now. Last kid is home from college for her last summer before Senior year. She was back working the day after she stepped off the plane so I doubt we'll see much of her anyway. Other two fully employed right out of college and never came back. One married and produced me an awesome Grandson.

I hate to say it but I miss them all dearly. It not a pretty sight when I start blubbering.

Walking around nude and sex on demand is nice though.

They come back. Oldest did his best to suck the life out of me. Ever wanted to stand on his own 2 feet. Just like his mothe taught him. He had 4 kids bang bang. I was the reason they didn't go hungry most the time. Finally got him off my back and now finds any reason he can to be mad at me. Last message I sent him I said have a nice life. My other 2 sons are nothing like him. Bad genes from the other side

there are definite positives to your kids being independent.

weekends aren't kids activities, they are what my wife and I want to do.

I feel one of my greatest accomplishments is raising two sons who are self sufficient and out in the world on their own. My wife and I have been empty nesters for nearly 4 years and it is OUTSTANDING.

Our youngest daughter graduated from the local Community College two weeks ago and has moved out. Very quiet around our house. I don't like it. We need some grandkids.

Hahaha. You sound like my dad.

I wrapped my sons' lunches in road maps since they were 5. They finally too heed. They are always welcome back but they aren't staying.

With our youngest turning 40 earlier this year and our oldest 48 next month, and all three living on their own and supporting themselves for years now, we are well past the empty nest pangs period. Other than memories of good times and a few not so good, it passed and started to feel pretty much the normal for us in just a few years.

With our six grand kids spread out from 5 years of age to just turned 22 now, and all live within a mile or two, we still have younguns around pretty regularly to remind us of all the stages we went through raising their parents, plus grand kids can be more fun since you have more free time for them (and they go back to their own home).

We've had our turn and now it's the next generation's turn to take the reins.

You never know, our kids and/or grand kids may be spoon feeding, wiping slobber off our chins and cleaning up after us before it's all over.

I was blessed with two wonderful kids that we adopted when they were weeks old. It was pretty hard at first to get used to not having them around, but seeing as they're making their way in this world successfully it made it easier. We still very much enjoy their company, but enjoy our freedom as well.

Great post.
We have helped raise all 9 of our grandkids. Off and on since they were born. We wouldnt change it if we could, except maybe have parents that grew up faster
Since school is out we will have 4 to 6 teenager and a 5 and 6 year old off and on all summer. Grandkids are way better than kids, you can send them home. I think it is easier with the grandkids mostly because I have mellowed out and dont take life so seriously.

Our 6 year old granddaughter told her mom when she picked her up from school on the last day to hurry home so she could pack her room up cause she was moving to papas for the summer. 😁

'Mother Dearest' flew the coop, when the nest emptied out....

I find it wonderful. Cookie and I do what we want on our own schedule. Also got to retire about 3 years early when the kid decided to not do college.

Other than some hellish times with my extremely strong willed daughter during her teenage years I enjoyed dang near every second of raising our kids.

It’s way easier and simpler with just the two of us, well when that happens. But still lucky to enjoy our adult kids, just came back from one of our rec cabins with the 25 year old guy. The river it’s on is known to be difficult to run due to how winding it is, very shallow water in places, lots of sweepers and log jams, narrow river to begin with runnable channels even more narrow of course. Sometimes the channel is only 1 boat width 🤷🏻‍♂️ He handled the boat like a pro and we sooooo enjoyed his company.

His lil bro is 21 and they share a condo together. I asked him while at the cabin if he liked it that his lil bro loves him so much?

He said yep cause I love that lil stubborn chit too.


We’ve been really blessed, our family turned out closer than I could have ever dreamed.

Fixed it for ya.

it is easier with the grandkids mostly because I have mellowed out and dont take life so seriously.


Amen !

I enjoyed our kids but I was a pretty intense dad, probably too intense in retrospect

Everyone that was around us much when we were raising ours knows I didn’t brook any chit from them, particularly when we were working. Smarter and better dad most likely coulda instilled the same values without so much high volume cussin and yelling 🤦🏼‍♂️

The grands I just smile and relax they’ll most likely be fine, cause my daughter doesn’t brook any chit from them. 😂 but she does it a bit milder than I did 👍🏻

👍

My lass will be back on Friday for her seven week semester break, she starts back at work on Saturday and is already on the work roster for the next seven weeks, any days off we will wander out to cut firewood and do some shooting.

After work each night around 1am we go running and plan how we are going to annoy my wife by buying her stuff she doesn't need...I cannot wait.

It IS cool! REALLY cool!



Oh, sh.........
Buzzkill.

I tell folks - "We threw the kids out, and the daughter came back, dragging 4 grandkids" They both have been relatively self-supporting since they were in college, however - most who know us realize when I'm joking

Empty nest and empty wallet are not the same.

It gets real quiet. Disconcertingly quiet when they all leave the nest. The secret is to raise your kids to be self-sufficient and I'm proud to say all of my adult children are doing great but me and Grammy will always be a backstop just in case.

My two have taken on life and are doing well.

I knew that I had done well when my DAUGHTER, that lived about 2 1/2 hours away at the time, called and said she was moving to a different apartment and wanted to know what size U-Haul she should rent.................. When asked if she needed a hand she sad, NOPE, I got it covered!!! When asked who was going to drive the truck.................. SHE was! I did tell her to buy all the insurance they sell. She called back and said I was right about how they stop!!!

It's one thing when your daughters, at 21, step out into the world, grab hold of it and do well..... It's a nightmare when the parents die and the kids find themselves alone in the world for the first time at 50..............

Mine were/are prepared to live with us GONE.............

One married in Atlanta, the other single in Chicago, we are in Florida............ I am proud, happy and somewhat sad all at once.

AND..... can walk naked through the house without a worry.............

When our oldest headed off to college, he probably hadn't turned onto the highway when we had his room emptied and prepping for paint to be transformed into an office. When the youngest headed off, my bride was almost beside herself missing her. I said we should take a bit of a vacation and she agreed to that. When we returned from our trip to Williamsburg, VA, her anxieties had vanished. Problem solved.

Give 'em time to breed and they'll be dumping the grandkids on you all the time.
You'll be right back to the terrible twos before you know it.

Damn, Sal.

You got grandkids already?

Sometimes it actually gets harder I think — they are gone and out of the house but you are never finished being a parent.

Pretty much the way it was here, but my son lives a 15min drive away and looking after his daughter most weekends since she was two has been a source of quite unexpected joy.

Being a schoolteacherI ain’t alone all the much anyway.

It's bittersweet, I'm glad they are out in the world making their own way just like we taught them.

One lives 1 mile down the road and the other lives three miles down the road. I see them lots and the grandgirls are here all the time.

Holy mother of god I can’t wait til the day comes. I love them all but lord help me...they’ve been given the skills to survive on their own, been taught the importance of work, saving, paying, staying out of debt...

The youngest is 2. She might have to stay to take care of my old ass in 16 years. Barring that...she’ll be fine.

Just the facts of life.