So yesterday my eldest picked up her 6th form uniform. This time next year we'll be deciding on universities hopefully and in two years she'll be gone.
We'll still have my youngest at home but he will be starting his GCSE's when she goes and in 6 years he'll be gone as well.
It's fucking depressing thinking about it. I don't want to show them the upset; it's my burden not theirs, they should be excited and happy not guilty so I'm going to hide it, but sometimes I just get down thinking about it. Surely it's only three or four weeks since they started in Reception class, surely that's all it is! But it isn't, it's fucking years and they will soon start leaving.
This has kicked off because I was talking to my boss a bit ago and her little one started reception class yesterday (Scotland), and I mentioned how fast it went and it got me down.
There will be more guitar playing time I agree which will be okay but right now that seems poor compensation for losing my babies out of the family nest.
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It's lovely to see a perspective from your side I hope I feel the same!
Plan for when they're gone: do the stuff you've never had time to do, become a couple again instead of just being Mum and Dad, have time together, take trips. Make the whole thing a positive experience instead of a depressing one.
Some of our friends are finding it really hard - they've stopped talking to each other except when in company. And even then it's a bit tense ....
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They can be a complete pain in the arse sometimes but it will be horrible not having them around.
I often wonder what effect it will have on my marriage as you hear of quite a lot of middle aged couples divorcing when their kids move out because,unconsciously the only reason they've stay together is for the kids.My marriage is strong at the moment but such a huge change in dynamics has got to have some sort of effect.
Our eldest starts uni this year and I know what you mean.
Time seemed to stretch on forever until he went to highschool, then it just seems to have been a continuous whirl and a blink of an eye and he's leaving home. Half of me hoped he wouldn't get in to uni so he would stay at home (that's a bad thing, isn't it?).
When we were doing the rounds of university open days last year, the prospect of just leaving him somewhere and driving off almost made me cry! However a year later, and with the stress of 'A' levels out of the way he's really looking forward to going, and I'm a little more reconciled to the prospect. I suspect the actual parting will still be quite traumatic, and the house will be very different without him, but it's all part of life. The other one is two years behind him, but is somehow more self assured and it already feels right that she will make her own way in due course.
That Roger Waters knew what he was writing about.
I keep thinking you have to let them go to get them to come back
Cheers all.