We’ve been empty nesters for a while now, and while I enjoy quiet and dinners for two, going from a full table to two of us sitting at one end of a table for 8 was an adjustment. It was going from this:
to this:
There’s no need to actually set the table since we serve ourselves from the stove and the counter (in the hopes that one serving is sufficient, and we’ll have leftovers for lunch.) Unfortunately, it is not often the case.
And we are missing other signs of children in the house, if even for just an overnight, to do some laundry, gather belongings and repack for the long drive home. This was after Elaina’s and the kids’ Airbnb stay in Rockford for two weeks.
the guest “scrubbies” 
bath toys & baby wash 
Matthew’s shark tooth necklace
And it was after husband Bob flew in to join her and attend our grandson’s (their nephew’s) wedding in Champaign, a wedding which the whole family attended and celebrated. From there it was on to their real vacation in North Carolina.
And then back to Rockford after a long delayed fight from NC to eat a late dinner, sleep, do some laundry, pack, and regroup for the long drive home.
All this occurred in July, and here we are almost to Labor Day, and I hadn’t even posted it yet. I think I took a bit of a vacation also.
