Just found this board here...

**peanut** · 11-24-2006, 02:30 PM

I've been at the "Village" for over a year now and didn't realize what a Third Ager was!!!LOL I have an adult daughter living at home. Otherwise I qualify. She is hardly ever home, what with working and going out with friends. She rarely eats with us. Though schedule changes sometimes change that.

I must admit I like the freedom to do whatever I want now. My constraints these days aren't kids, but whether or not I can get the car from my husband to run around town to do things.

The down side is, when I look around the house and see the mess, I realize I have no one to blame but myself! I have just collected too much stuff since having kids. And I haven't thrown out a lot. Though we have taken a couple loads to the Salvation Army recently. I still have tons of stuff to go though. What a mess! A major de-cluttering is happening.

Anyways, I hope you don't mind me popping in every now and then. Talk to you later!

Jean

**Darlene** · 11-24-2006, 08:50 PM

Yeah! Jean has joined the group!!!

My kids are in and out too. My 2 kids come home for college breaks, even my dd who has her own place. I enjoy having them here but it does make things messy & different and wonderful all at the same time, lol. Good stuff. Someday they won't be coming home for very long, that will be hard.

**PrairieRose** · 11-25-2006, 10:19 AM

Nice to have you over here with us happily more independant semi retired mom's and wives. I love it when my brood comes home too (even though the house gets soooo messy and the towels pile up in the dirty clothes hamper). I really love it when they come but am happy to let them go and live their own lives when they're ready to leave. (even though I have to admit to a day of slight sadness once they live, I recover more quickly than I used to)

**cau** · 12-21-2006, 04:43 PM

My mil used to say you miss them when they go but believe me you get over it quickly. I have 1 moved back homw with her dd but they live in the apartment downstairs.I'm enjoying it

**nwmissourigal** · 12-23-2006, 10:08 PM

I have to agree with Prairierose...I love to have my family here so much and I do feel a sadness when they leave. But it is getting better everytime. I wasn't a good empty nester at first, but each day really does get better and I am enjoying being a couple again with my husband.

**peanut** · 12-24-2006, 04:18 PM

Well I'm not an empty nester anymore! DD#1 and her dh phoned the beginning of the month and asked if they could move into our basement. They both want to go to university and can't afford it. Due to their ages (a bit more mature after living on their own for 4 years), and our lack of actual cash to give them, we agreed they could live in our basement rent free. But they both had to be going to university and attend Family Council meetings weekly.

So far it's been working great. Everyone has their own room to retreat to for privacy. The kids help with utilities and cooking and cleaning. They've even helped drive us around when we've had a car crunch. They've helped us find ways to save some money on our Internet bill, and dd#1 is helping me put together a project binder to organize all my projects in one place. Then I'll have no excuse not to finish them!

We've had some issues to resolve, but that's been expected. The Family Council meetings are dealing with that. So far everyone is doing fine.

DD#1 has entertained twice and both times they've been low key and out by midnight. They had company so I offered to cook for 7 last night. They were so grateful all their company came up to help do dishes and clean up! I figured they deserved some Christmas baking, so baked up my third batch of Christmas cookies and took some down to them. DD#2 (who was with them last night) said a special thank-you to me this morning. It really made a big difference apparently.

So I'm not an empty nester any longer! Is there a board for people with boomerang kids?!

**dcompton** · 12-25-2006, 12:30 AM

Well, I'm neither a wife nor a mother, but most definitely over forty! I am big into independence, though it does have it's drawbacks. As you say, I have only myself to blame for the mess, but then I cut myself some slack -- I work a 40 hour week plus some at-home moonlighting, and have to do all the shopping, all the errands, all the cooking, all the cleaning, all the bookkeeping..... Not enough hours or energy in the day for all of it! But I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is great on the other side of 40.

I'm glad there's another third ager here. Not much posting here. Of course, I don't post much either, do I? Anyway, welcome.