Instant Empty Nest. That’s what my wife Anne and I are facing when our only two children, twins Josh and Andrew, are off to college in three weeks. The boys have been such an integral part of our lives for 18 years. One tradition I enjoyed with my sons was “buddy night” which I wrote about last June.
Another practice I’ll miss is saying good night to the boys every evening. Good moods or bad, happy times or sad, we always say good night to each other, as this old home movie shows:
Our 18 year olds still continue this ritual. These days instead of kisses I’ll get a quick “high five” accompanied by “good night, Dad”.
I just know one month from today, with Josh and Andrew away at school, I’ll knock on their doors out of habit before bedtime. But their rooms will be empty. Our little boys grew up so fast.