With Mouse’s arrival on Wednesday, my life changed overnight from a world that was a little too silent for my taste to a whirlwind of talk and activity. I was ready for Mouse to leave last fall. Unlike some mothers, I am happy to see my kids grow up and move on. I was busy and I looked forward to having fewer people to have to take care of, not that Mouse has ever had any particular need to be taken care of.

Life was not easy this year and by the end of the year, I was sitting on the ground wondering what had hit me and what was next. One minute the future would seem filled with an overwhelming number of choices. The next I’d be looking into a big black void. I am not good at being idle and I was starting to make some progress, albeit in small ways. But it was too silent around here.

Since Wednesday, it has not been silent here. Teenagers are in and out at all hours of the day and night. We have driven all over hell and gone running errands and having lunch, etc. (Note to self: do not buy Mouse coffee again. Tea may be a better choice.) There is a lot of talk. About knitting, school, knitting, religion, knitting, politics, knitting, sewing, knitting, palindromes, knitting, life, death, and the universe. Did I mention knitting?

Mouse will return to kzoo as a sophomore in the fall. Then there’ll be study abroad and senior year and graduation and on into the world. It’ll go fast and I will get used to the empty nest again. Somehow, I will find my way into a future of doing something worthwhile that makes me happy. For now, I am glad I have a teenager at home for the summer. It is not silent here now.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 9th, 2006 at 8:03 am and is filed under life-death-universe, mouse. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.