It's Been Awhile

It has been awhile. I didn't even know I still had this blog until I had to go into my google settings for something and it showed up. I don't think anyone does these anymore, but it was fun reading through things I had written so long ago. Mostly good memories. Some...were probably better left unsaid. Still, we are the sum of all of our experiences, yes? If so, then I have been very fortunate.

Mr. DamYankee (racoon remover, suppository purchaser, Mr. Fix It, aka Lloyd) and I are doing really well. Empty nesters. 





OH MY GOD, we love it. We loved raising our children and we still have one that is half in and out of the nest, but mostly away at school. The other two have fully catapulted themselves from the nest and have their own families.

You know, you worry about how things will be when it's just the two of you. I assumed that we would be good and have a great time just ourselves, but do you ever see those couples in Cracker Barrel eating dinner and they never say a word to each other? Outside of the family they raised, they have nothing to say to each other. They hate each other and have for a long time but murder is wrong and they just hope they can outlive the other. 



Lloyd and I have spent the entirety of our relationship raising children and we have gone on dates, and long weekend vacations but the last few years that Cole was home...he joined us on a lot of our dates. He's a food snob (his fathers fault, entirely) and if there was a chance for a free...quality meal, or movie, he was already in the truck before we had the keys in our hand. 



Our lives truly centered around our kids and their activities. You only get them for 18 years and they go by fast. (Not the toddler years, so much but the rest...yes)  And it was a privilege to watch them grow up and become the adults that they are. 

The 1st week after Cole left for school, we stared at each other. We missed him, just as we missed the girls when they went to college. The house was quiet...too quiet. Except for our schnauzers that bark when the grass moves ever so slightly. But by week 2, we were singing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". By week 3, we were binge watching TV shows that had come out 10-15 years prior and drinking adult beverages in the pool whenever we wanted. 

I had NO IDEA how freeing it was going to be to not have to worry about what we were going to eat for dinner ever again. Make no mistake, I didn't really care before, but I felt obligated to ensure that there was food in the house and that "meals" were made available. Now, I don't care if we starve. We won't, I promise you. If you know us in real life, you know that I could go without eating for an entire year and probably still make it. 

The next topic will be slightly contentious: boiled hot dogs. Yay or nay?