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Two weeks.
In two weeks, both of my guys will be away at school.
In two weeks, my husband and I will have the house to ourselves.
In two weeks, I won’t have to listen to complaints about how empty the pantry is.
In two weeks, I won’t have to nag anyone to take out the recycling and trash, or be up to my eyeballs in dishes that nobody’s putting away.
(but I’m also not doing the job for them!)
In two weeks, I don’t have to close the door to the glory that is a teenager’s room.
In two weeks, I’ll be able to enter the hall bathroom without a hazmat suit.
In two weeks, I can worry so much less about grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking. I’ll be without the compounding of clutter that causes that tangled feeling in the pit of my stomach.
But…I’ll also be without THESE guys.
They won’t be around for random conversations, for occasional date days, for the get-a-load-of-this-video! nudges, for the can-you-guess-this-song game, for kitchen dance parties, for constant bickering and ribbing and poking, for eye rolling at the latest dumb thing…
…and I might miss them, just a little bit.
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
The photos made this post. Also liked the use of capitalization and the unconditional love you have for your two teens. Kitchen damce parties sound so fun, and I don’t dance.
Kitchen dance parties ARE fun, and no, I don’t really dance very well either. But so much of parenting, I’ve found, is rolling my pride into a ball and tucking it into my back pocket. Life gets better that way ; )
Yes, you will be without your two guys, but you will know that you have prepared them well for this next part of their lives. Besides, I am sure that to make you feel less lonely there will be laundry runs, care packages, calls and texts, etc. Never having had children empty next syndrome is something we have never experienced.
Ahh yes. The laundry runs, the Facetime calls, the request for baked goods and homemade granola. All of which I will happily oblige! You’re also right about the preparation for the next part of their lives. It takes a LOT of trust, but I think they’re fully deserving. I’ve told them that, and hopefully that’s something they actually believe!
Oh, I love this post so much! The juxtaposition of what you won’t miss alongside what you will–so heartfelt and true. And those photos–perfect use of visuals to make your point.
Thanks, Amy! I think about the photos as jury exhibits in my case for “life with teens.”
This is a great post. The reality of living with teenagers. In a few years the story will be different. I know you will miss them as everything as your home will be different, “in two weeks.”.
You’re absolutely right, Juliette. The story DOES continue to change, and that is, I suppose, what I love about it. I love watching who they’re becoming as they step further and further into themselves. Pretty cool, if you ask me =))
I can feel the push-pull of your emotions, Lainie. Of course, there are many wonderful parts to having both boys out of the house, but there is also a lot you will miss about having your sons living at home!
Looks like both of us have some push-pull going on in our parenting lives, Stacey! I will definitely miss (and not miss!) a lot about my guys. Then again (and I kind of mention this in my comment to you on your post), I think that holds true for pretty much every phase of parenting. There are definitely things I miss or get nostalgic for, and there are definitely reasons I’m glad we’re in our next phase.
Oh, Lainie! Hugs! Enjoy your last two weeks. It does take some getting used to – not having your children around (my youngest moved out in January). But, I’m sure despite your pictures – (LOL – very familiar to a mom of boys, too) – they are more than ready to fly. And, you will be more than ready to open your arms and welcome them back when they come! In the meantime, you’ll have a quiet house, a clean bathroom, and look longingly at their bedrooms once they are void of the evidence of their possessions. I feel your conflict of emotions, some mild anxiety, some humor, and some joy – all in your post! Hugs!
Thanks, Carol! Hugs RECEIVED. Yes, I have complete faith that my guys are as ready and as equipped as they can be. Yes, I’ll still carry them with me and worry sometimes. But that’s not necessarily different from how we’ve been doing things all along, in setting them on their own two feet. But oh! am I dreaming of the day when I don’t have to spend so much time fretting over grocery shopping and meal prep. Sigh.
I think our job is to give our kids the tools to fly. Letting them go is hard, but necessary. You know that. And, there are things that get easier when then are gone…as you said yourself. It doesn’t mean you love them less and it doesn’t mean you worry about them less. I am sure you’ve done a great job with your boys!
That’s the thing with kids…it’s always a “time will tell” proposition… =)
How true!
This post hit on the feelings in my heart right now too. My daughter leaves in 2 weeks and my soon after that. The clutter, the noise plus other things you mentioned are bugging me right now but I will miss them soon. I had tears in my eyes as I connected with another mom’s similar feelings.
Thank you! Yes, I am in ALL the feels right now. I know this transition will hit me differently than when I first dropped my older guy off at college. Then again, it was harder to say goodbye after his first winter break than it was that August – maybe because he came back more appreciative and mature? Either way, I’m not sure how sending my younger one off is going to hit me, and I think I’ll be figuring that out for a while. Best to you and your family as you negotiate this new territory for yourself as well. Hugs to you.
You touched this mother’s heart. I am counting down the days until my daughter leaves- 2 weeks. I am trying to soak up as much time as I can together. I had tears in my eyes as I read this..
You totally hit on the feelings I am having at the moment. My daughter leaves in 2 weeks and my son a bit after that. I had tears in my eyes as I read your piece. I also chuckled a few times too.
NOOOOO! This is so good. I have a little more than two weeks until my oldest goes to college — somehow I lucked out and she doesn’t have to be there until the end of September! But I can feel the time ticking away… and it’s so sad to feel my heart breaking day by day……..
Ohhh I remember sending my first guy off to college. Confession time: it was harder for me to let him go after he was home from winter break that freshman year than it was that day in August. Maybe it was because everything was so hectic and rushed. Maybe it was because we got to appreciate our relationship over that first absence. Whatever it was, my timeline for feeling that loss looked a little different. All of which is to say, there’s no way to predict when and how those feels are going to come. Sending you all the mama vibes I can muster. We’re gonna need ’em!
What resonates with me here is the celebratory air – not merely that the guys are leaving, and with them the “glory of the teenager’s room,” etc. It’s the embracing of time, transition, the order of things… throughout it all are echoes of your grateful heart. I hear it, and know it… certainly bittersweet!
DEFINITELY bittersweet. Although for me, I know that there’s just so much great stuff to come for them, so it’s hard to be truly sad about things. That, and I know that our relationship will enter a new phase – one that I’m also looking forward to…
As a mom of two sons “the glory that is a teenager’s room” had my shaking my head in not so fond memory. Those teens are now pushing 40. The charm and chagrin of this entire post resonates.