decluttering, drEAming, random thoughts, rEArranging

Tears before bathtime…

wherethejourneytakesme

A sad sad day.

My daughter and her partner have moved out of our house and back to their own.  I am missing them dreadfully already.

The house is so quiet .

Their bathroom however is beautiful – like a picture from a magazine – it has taken 10 long months for a room only 8′ by 6′ – it is perfection itself – but then she is my daughter!!  The photo is the bathroom part way through – I haven’t taken one yet of the finished product.
They moved out yesterday and although she is only living 4 miles away we both cried on the doorstep and haven’t stopped since – it  is reminiscent of the time when she first went away to University and then soon afterwards travelled the world and then went to live in Greece for a while.  Each time the parting does not get any easier and today is no different and I am feeling bereft.

It is hard to say goodbye and then face that empty bedroom.

I have shut the door.

I will get used to it again and I am already planning that spring clean and redecorating now we can move about our house with ease.  On the bright side I will have so much more time to myself and I plan to catch up on all those things that I have let slip so …Decluttering here I come.

Published by wherethejourneytakesme

I live in a small old mill town nestled into the Pennine hills in Yorkshire with my long-suffering husband of thirty some years. I have two beautiful daughters who have flown the nest (most of the time!). I paint and draw (a little) when time allows, make and bake sometimes but not often enough and garden and grow things as much as possible. I recycle and up-cycle, hate waste and I couldn’t live without my time planner and lists.

16 thoughts on “Tears before bathtime…”

  1. I know exactly how you feel, I hate the emptiness and quietness after the children have left and it seems worse if they have been back at home for a while! We have found that there some advantages for us being on our own, with more time and the house being more clean and tidy. It just takes time to adjust to the change X
    Sarah x

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    1. I came home tonight to find my daughter in our home office room doing her ironing – she has never bought an ironing board in her own house and I think secretly it is a good excuse to come home more often! It was lovely to see her though and catch up on the 3 days of news.

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    1. Thank you for your concern – it has continued to be a tearful week but I will improve – I have had so many practices at this leaving home thing – she is a bit of a boomerang but at 32 it is probably time she didn’t keep coming back!

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  4. Mine has been away from home for a year now, and I never really get used to it… I just have to keep reminding myself about all the good things my kid is finding in independent life…but wow, it is hard.

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    1. We always encouraged them to be independent and also to travel and experience life to the full which they do but it does mean they end up a bit like gypsies going here and there and moving about a lot. However, for the last 4 years they have both managed to stay in the same place and with the same jobs and in this country which is a bonus – the elder one is only 4 miles away now and the younger about 65 miles. When I discovered Facebook I could really keep tabs on them and what they’re up to!!

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    1. Yes I am thankful that they are independent and don’t really need me around to be able to function – I think we do all need our own space – I will be OK next week – it is just the sudden change that has hit me. Thanks for you comment.

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  7. I share your feelings. My second son and his wife left our home about half a year ago and I am terribly missing my three-year old grandson. They are now living in a place that is almost two hours away by land transportation. I think parents and grandparents just have to be prepared for this chain reaction. Remember what we did to our parents many years ago? It was exactly the same thing. But parents are parents and God made us that way so we won’t stop loving. Nice post. Thank you.

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    1. I left home when I was 18 and only returned for a brief six month period before I married. However, I did end up living only 2 miles (3-4 kilometres?)away from mum and dad for all my married life. When dad died mum moved away from me and I was just as bereft then – she now lives 80 miles away. I have one daughter close by and one 65 miles away nearer to my mum – so thank goodness for the telephone and Facebook so we can keep in touch.

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  8. I don’t have children so I’m not familiar with that empty nest feeling. But in my 20s I went off to Australia for a year. I had lost my mum a few years earlier and in the selfishness of youth I had no idea how much my dad would miss me. … but he of course never let me know that, in order not to spoil the experience.. The unconditional love of a parent never ceases to amaze.

    Thank you for finding me and for leaving such a heartfelt comment at mine. I’m glad we found each other.

    Jeanne
    x

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