Originally Posted by
Eric F
Maybe more than a little - for both of us. We are saying goodbye to a lifestyle that has been the dominant force in our family schedule for 10 years. While I'm very excited for the next step in her journey (University of Oregon), I'm definitely going to miss the joy of watching her play her sport, which has included competing with and against some of the best players in the country. I've been at every single one of her games (approx. 800) since she started playing the sport at 8yo, almost every team practice, countless hours of her and I working together on our own, and 10's of thousands of miles in the car together. Tons and tons of wonderful memories. From today forward, everything is different. I gotta figure out if my wife and I still like each other. After all, I'm probably going to be lurking around her house a lot more.
We have an only daughter with whom I was extremely close and involved. I was devastated when she went away to school, so much of my life was just over. Needless to say, my wife was pretty sad too, so we decided to take two weeks to go cruising that September, something we had never felt we could do before. It became a yearly tradition. The empty nest has its pleasures, like all of life’s phases, even if it lacks the incredible sweetness of having a daughter in the house. Enjoy the time and freedom, get to know your wife again, and be glad we’re in the era of text and video chat. Our kid graduated, spent a month at home and left the continent for seven straight years. Now she’s 3000 mi away in Seattle and has applied for a job in Norway. Fortunately, she’s generous with electronic contact.