The Teenagers Have Left The Building! Why Am I Sad?

I have looked forward to this day for weeks. It's the 4th of July and my kids are with my oldest daughter, her husband and my grandchildren. Oh, the plans I have made! I will start with ordering Pizza without having to fight to get a center piece. I will clean a room without a thousand interuptions, I will write my blog without a million questions and I will inspect my daughters room without her begging me to leave. Yes, this is a day I have looked forward to for a long time.

But wait, they have been gone no longer than 2 hours and I feel sad. Sad, why? No one followed me to the bathroom to ask how long I will be. No one begs me to make macaroni for the fourth time this week. What do I need to be sad about?

Perhaps it is the silence. I fell asleep watching a movie. I think I will take a second nap. I plan on going to bed early. What have I become?  Are they so much a part of my life that I can't function without the noise of them fighting in the background?  Will this be a small part of the empty nest syndrome when they leave for college?

Am I storing up energy for when they come back tomorrrow morning and all chaos returns?  Whatever the reasons, I admit I miss them. I miss their smiles and their eyes rolling whenever i ask them to do something. I miss their questions and their reasonings. I miss thier any to a zillion questions with "whatever".  I hope that not too long from when they return, I have a change to miss them again.