As I watched my youngest, Max, packing his bags for his senior year of college, I felt a bittersweet sense of pride. It’s a unique mix of joy and a touch of empty nest melancholy—but I’ve learned to embrace the empty nest life, and I’m sure you will too! While I cherish many memories from their school days, here are 25 reasons I’m thankful that my kids are now adults.
- No more endless paperwork filled out every single year. Remember when we had to do it by hand? Talk about a time suck!
- The days of writing checks for school lunches, books, fees, and other random expenses are long gone. Goodbye, checkbook!
- And those additional checks for things like uniforms and yearbooks? Good riddance!
- I no longer have to make lunches only to find them returned home, untouched. (Seriously, chips again?)
- Carpools. Need I say more? I think I drove enough kids around to fill a small bus.
- Waking up my son, Jake, for school every morning for 13 years feels like a distant memory. Now he’s an early bird all on his own!
- Shopping for school supplies that no one ever used, like those pink erasers and endless packs of paper? That’s a thing of the past!
- Small talk in the school parking lot with the mom whose kid seems to excel at everything? Not missing that one bit!
- Buying two dozen mechanical pencils for my son, who would lose them within days? Lesson learned.
- Clothing my daughter, Lily, who wore her new outfits once before defaulting to her trusty school hoodie? Classic!
- PTA meetings. The agony of sitting through those… and the guilt of not going was even worse.
- Back-to-school night? Let’s just say it was more about the new teachers than anything else.
- Parent-teacher conferences brought an uneasy feeling of being judged, but that faded quickly.
- Annual check-ups and vaccinations? Bye-bye to those forms and waiting rooms!
- Driving by the school to check if my kid was hanging out alone? Thankfully, that was never the case.
- Head lice. Enough said.
- Smelly sports uniforms that needed washing every day? I can still smell the football uniform…
- The emotional rollercoaster of middle-school drama? I’ll take a pass on that!
- The endless cycle of colds and flus? No thanks!
- Homework. Do I even need to elaborate?
- Auditions and tryouts for every activity imaginable? The drama never seemed to end!
- The anxiety of waiting for prom invitations? I’m glad that’s over!
- First-day jitters for them and senioritis? Can we get a support group for that?
- College applications and all the associated stress? It felt like a full-time job!
- The anxiety that comes with college admissions could be classified as a medical condition. Seriously, where’s my prescription?
In conclusion, while I miss some aspects of parenting younger kids, the freedom and peace that comes with grown children is truly liberating. If you’re navigating similar waters, take heart—there’s much to look forward to!
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