Pregnancy in Reverse…Part II

I wrote Pregnancy…in Reverse (Part I) last September.  I can’t believe the entire school year is over, Sunshine graduated from High School and is already off to college and I’m sitting here, an actual Empty Nester.  The last year, which was the Last Year, just flew by.

All the things I wrote about in Part I are still true, but I’ve noticed some other things as well.  Behaviors and habits that I haven’t had since my single days are starting to creep back into my psyche and my everyday life.

Like, for example, suddenly my Honda Pilot, which I’ve always loved, looks a bit…dowdy.  Wouldn’t something a bit spiffier be better?  I mean, my days of hauling teenagers and their assorted crap are over, right?  I’m starting to think a cute coupe in blue might look a whole lot better on me.  Dontcha think?

I’ve also noticed that I’m hanging out in places in my house I’ve never really sat before.  A few months ago I decided my living room was a bit crowded, so I moved a chair and ottoman and lamp into a corner of my dining room.  There are several women in my family who either have small children, or soon will, and it seemed like a great place to put a chair they could relax in and feed the baby.  Genius, right?
Except that, I’ve also found it’s a great place to hang out on a Sunday morning and sip my tea and enjoy whatever book I’m reading.  The chair is comfy and right next to a big wide window with a great view of the neighborhood.  So, now, this place I created because I couldn’t bear to give up a chair I thought I might someday want/need, has turned into this little piece of heaven right in my own house.  Whodathunkit?

It’s like that whole nesting thing you do at about seven months, except instead of moving her stuff in…I’m moving my stuff back.  Hmmmm.

A few months ago I would have made sure the pantry was stocked with peanut butter, cookies, chips and nutritious snacks, now I’ve realized that I don’t need to buy that crap anymore because it’s sitting in the cabinet going stale.  Of course, I bought two packages of Chips Ahoy and threw them away, thus causing major angst about wasting food, before I realized that I don’t need to buy that anymore, but cest le vie.
Food is a topic that’s making a lot of changes too. My grocery cart is only about an eighth as full as it used to be.  Which is a good thing because my dining out budget has definitely increased.  It’s still a bit of a challenge for me to go home and actually cook when I’m only cooking for me.  When that happens “cooking” generally starts to mean cold cereal and soup.  Which is how the girl at Applebee’s knows my phone number on the caller id now.  (I know, sad, right?)

But, I think the most interesting change I found myself contemplating is the Movie Channel issue.  As you all know, once you have children over the age of about two, you tend to lose the premium movie channels.  Okay, one reason is that children are freaking expensive and when expenses are being reviewed in that monthly budget meeting you have with your spouse (a.k.a, the monthly fight about who’s spending too much.), one of the first things to go is the movie channels.  One, they’re expensive, and two, what’s on them is no longer appropriate for young eyes (Daddy, is that reaallll blood?!), and three, those young eyes also have mouths that rat you out to Grandma, or worse, the priest on Sunday.

But, now I don’t have young impressionable eyes in my house anymore.   I don’t have to worry about what might slip out of someone’s mouth at Grandma’s house, what movie’s the teenager’s sneak and watch after I go to bed, thus getting me in trouble with the other parents.  Which means, I can have that premium Movie Channel and totally destroy my mind!  Yippee!

All in all, this whole Empty Nest thing really is pregnancy in reverse.  The clock is rolling back and I have the freedom to come and go as Iplease, and to live, well, selfishly.  By that I mean, living just for me.  Whatever I want is not just okay, it’s great!  Just the way things should be. ?