Tag Archives: Empty Nest

We're preparing to send Tom off to college again.  I've adjusted very well to having the house to myself.  The drawback is that I don't need or want this much house.

Snow removal, furnace repair, water heater replacement (even with huge and gratefully received financial gifts) and roof repair and driveway repair coming up and...and...and...

I'm tired of being a single (alone, not single-family-dwelling) homeowner.

I've breezed through the websites of a couple of apartment  of complexes that look altogether tempting.  My house payment/rent would go down, my heating bill would drop by $100, my electric would be non-existent.  No more paying for garbage pickup, snow removal, lawn mowing.

I would have to pay for a storage unit/place for my camper, or make arrangements to leave it at my dad's house during the non-camping season, so I'd only have to pay storage for part of the year.

Just thinking...if I'm going to be in Grand Rapids, I might as well take some of the pressure off.

He misses home.  I told him that I miss him a lot.

He's short on cash and I told him that I'll help as much as I can, which is not very much.

His financial aid still is not done because they lost my tax information (I can fax it tomorrow).  He has a $500 bill that needs to be paid.

But classes are going well.

It was really, really good to tell him I love him.  That his whole family is proud of him.  That he's doing good.

And that - he told me that he doesn't like to ask for money - that he should let others be blessed by blessing him.

hard core Atkins day...with a yogurt and fruit at lunch.

going to spend the day looking for waterfalls

  • Alder Falls
  • Yellow Dog Falls
  • Pinnacle Falls
  • head to the county visitor center for maps to more

camping tonight by myself (not the first time but I won't have internet).  Pick up Tom tomorrow night to head up to Copper Harbor, and then Porcupine Mountains.

Drop him off Sunday and then home.

Tom can tend to be quiet and withdrawn.  It's hard for him to make friends.

His roomie...Jason...is the opposite.  He's on the social committee, the welcome committee...the "let's get together and make the outsides of buildings into disc golf targets" sort of ad hoc committee.

I spent about 15 minutes at the dorm before Tom was whisked off to some social event.  he's not going to be allowed to sit in the dorm room and stagnate.  I think with this roommate, the action will come to him.

This is Tom's first day of orientation at NMU. I need to go to the bookstore and get a bumper sticker and maybe a flag or something equally hokey to put on my wall at work.

MY plan for the day?

  • take a hike
  • camp out at a coffee shop with free wifi and do something contructive (go through old posts that lost their categories and tags when I moved webhosts and sort them out)
  • drink heavily.  (coffee)

Like this summer vacation was a "vacation" - more like survival camp.

At any rate, some time next week (either Tuesday or Thursday) I begin the empty nest process.  Driving a long way to take my oldest to his new university - Orientation is Wednesday and Thursday...then we have 3 days to camp.

I'm going to pre-post a few things, but it will be slow.

And the long drive (we drive in separate cars) with me and my own thoughts and the new Sovereign Grace music (I bought the Psalms CD also - which is available from iTunes)