1. We didn’t have to break the bank by buying all those “starter” supplies for his dorm room. (Only new purchases: a floor lamp and a vacuum cleaner.  I suspect the former will be used more often than the latter.)

2. Boy didn’t flunk out his freshman year, so chances are good that he won’t flunk out his sophomore year.

3. Assuming number 2 holds true, we have only 3, not 4, years’ worth of tuition and room and board left to pay!

4. We know now that the water bill is 50 percent lower when he is gone.

5. We know now that the grocery bill is 50 percent lower when he is gone.

6. We know now that the noise level is 50 percent lower when he is gone.

7. We don’t have to have that awkward “Say No To Drugs/Practice Safe Sex” talk again.

8. He has proven that he can make new friends, so I know he won’t be sad and lonely.

9. Husband and I discovered that the Empty Nest is not so bad after all.  I know we won’t be sad and lonely.

 ̶1̶0̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶n̶a̶g̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶p̶a̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶.̶

 

 

In honor of today’s start of the Olympics in Brazil.  

Perhaps number 18 should be “mosquito swatting”?!

Flashback to dinner table conversation, July 29, 2012. The family agreed that badminton and table tennis were too silly to be Olympic events.

And this is the most “sporty” and “Brazil-like” photo I could find. (It’s Florida.)  (And all of us did go kayaking.)

1. Paintball

2. Hopscotch

3. Competitive eating

4. Croquet

5. Hang-gliding

6. Poker

7. Dueling with wax bullets

8. Soapbox derby

9. Water-balloon toss

10. Three-legged race

11. Wheelbarrow race

12. Watermelon seed spitting

13. Bocce

14. Cornhole

15. Skeeball

16. Skateboarding

17. Four-square

1. Her cozy bedroom is a calm respite from the cold, cruel world.

2. Her mom always supplies fresh linens and towels, just like a hotel.

3. Her mom will make fresh coffee in the morning, just like a hotel.

4. The WiFi is free, just like a hotel.

5. All the meals are cooked by someone else.

6. All the meals are free.

7. All the cocktails are free.

8. Visits to breweries and wineries are a strong possibility.  And it will be free, since her mom will pay.

9. Her mom is cleaning out closets and the basement, and certain childhood items have to be saved from the Goodwill pile. (Or the trash.)

10. Her loving and nurturing mom misses her terribly, so visiting her mom is the least she can do, while she still can.

1. We were both born and raised outside Chicago, and each of our families rooted for the Cubs. (This goes a long way in explaining our hopeful attitudes about life.)

2. We both became proponents of social justice issues at a very young age.

3. We both rocked that headband look in the 1980s.

4.  We both clung tenaciously to our birth names. (OK, OK, so maybe I would have switched to my husband’s surname, too, if he ever had run for governor.  Or President. Maybe.)

5. We both insisted on lining the drawers in our kids’ college rooms. (You may call it “micro-managing”, but I call it “motherly concern” –have you seen the size of those dormitory dust bunnies?!)

6. We have both been called “bitch” throughout our lives, and I suspect our daughters have been as well.

7.  We both rejoice at each and every shattering of a glass ceiling, because we do have daughters–strong and capable daughters.

8. We both have been teased about “wearing the pants in the family”, (see number 6) although I haven’t owned a pant suit for at least two decades.

9. Both of us are married to men who have shown a weakness for women named “Monica.”

• 

1. The anniversary of my marriage.

2. All-clear mammogram and colonoscopy results.

3. Oldest child’s graduation from college.

4. Middle child’s graduation from college.

5. Youngest Child’s departure for college.

6. Finding a hair color that covers the gray.

7. The loss of 10 pounds and the gain of the realization that I am never again going to be thin but I can deal with that.

8. The purchase of a brand-new, shiny and slightly frivolous sports car that makes me feel so giggly and girly when Husband drives me around town.

9. The quality of my friendships, both in town and on social media, versus the quantity.

10.  Living long enough to finally see Peace on Earth and Goodwill To Men And Women.