Empty Nester

 In September 2012, my daughters and I moved into a townhouse when the house was sold, and separation/divorce had been happening. This is the view of what was their rooms from my bedroom.   

This morning I woke up and while looking at this view, it brought back all the memories I have had when they both lived here. I'm so grateful in the fact that I was able to find a place where they could continue having their own rooms.  

Almost 9 years ago, my landlady decided she was going to sell this house and would I be interested?  Of course!  The only thing was that I had no real savings to put down on anything, and then she took forever to tell me the price. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful friend who is a realtor and found me a loan with no money down, low closing costs and no PMI. With that information, I started looking at other places in case my landlady came back with a price too high for me.  My girls and I looked at 3 bedroom places, and even 2 bedroom places. Because there was a chance I couldn't afford a 3 bedroom condo/townhouse.  But alas, my landlady came back with a price that worked perfectly for me and I was fortunate enough that my girls and I stayed here.

So when I look at this view I still see the way their rooms were decorated when they still lived here (this is DEFINITELY now how it looked back then) and the life we have had here together.  About two years after actually getting to call this place my own, my oldest moved out, having graduated college and secured herself a job where she was able to support herself.

And in January of this year, my youngest moved out, after having graduated and securing a job to support herself as well.  I knew the time was coming and I had been worrying about living alone and being lonely without either one of my daughters living here.  But I also knew that my job as a mom was also to raise them to be able to live on their own and create their lives.

So I did what I always to and plan.  One has become a guest bedroom and the other one is my craft/little people collection room. I already have friends and family planning to come and visit.

So now I'm in the "empty nester" phase of my life.  And so far?  It's been great!  I can decorate it however I want, I can do whatever I want and work to make it a place of tranquility and also a place where my daughters are always welcome.

Yes, there are still a few times where I miss them, but this morning was a time for reflecting the memories in this house when we all lived here together, and smiling about it.