Here I am saying goodbye to my daughter who is heading out to her last exam on the last day of high school.  For the past 19 years, I have had a child in Elementary, Jr High, or High School, and now it's over.  What a shift!  Of course there are still two to get through college, but it's different, it's not on my watch.  They don't need me to wake them up, make breakfast, make them lunch, make them dinner, be available for activities, and drive them anywhere anymore!

Best of all, very soon, I won't have make dinner every night.  Did you know that if you calculate the meals you've made for your kids over a 15 year period it's a whopping 11,700 meals?   No wonder we need a nap.

I looked back at my notes from a Letting Go Workshop I did last February to see what I'd listed for pro's and con's - of becoming an empty nester.

Pros

Less feeding!
You don't have to be there to prep every meal, anticipate what's not in the fridge, and provide the right foods. If they're going for the freshman 15, they'll do it on their own.  If you want to diet, it's a whole lot easier when you're not dishing up platters of pasta.

More sleep!
You don't have to wait up late at night until they get home. Now if they're not in, you'll never know it.  Hmmm, maybe we'll never sleep anyway.

Travel!
Now you can lock the door and go out of town, you don't have to worry about wild parties in your house or phone calls from the local law enforcement folks.  Hopefully if the law visits it's because of one of YOUR wild parties.

Now the Cons

No more good night kisses-
But well.... for many of us it's been awhile anyway.

Less noise in the house-
Let's see, is that a pro or a con...It is a lot quieter, no one is letting you know that family is there and someone still needs you.  And of course no teen music to keep you current. You're on your own for meaningful iPod updates.  May as well revert to Stravinsky.

Missing the little boys and girls that were-
But then, they've pretty much disappeared anyway. Just little hints of who they were - when they need us.  Remember when they would get excited to go to the movies with us?

Ultimately - the intense mother and father mode is over.  The "me" and "us as a couple" modes are back.  You can be first on your list for the first time in 20 years.  Just like the pre kid days.  So party on!  Watch for my blog on reinventing your relationship next week.

This is a short list; tell me what pros and cons are top of mind for you....