Back in the saddle...

So I took a brief hiatus from my blog... Since I am my only follower at this time I was not too worried that I would be missed. However, I did have a few friends who follow on Facebook ask me when I would have another installment of their favorite NON TV drama.  In the three months I haven't posted, my whole life has completely changed. For the first time in 20 years, I am employed full time AND have become an empty nester. I hate one and love the other... the weird thing is, if you had asked me 4 months ago I would have told you that I hated the idea of going back to work and loved the thought of having peace and quiet in a house all to myself (and Wayne). This is actually not the case. Of course I have my days when I just want to crawl under the covers and not come out again but mostly I am just doing things one day at a time and adjusting to all the changes... not without a little help... meds are awesome! LOL!!

The job is great. I took a job as a legal secretary for a small, but well established, law firm in town, the hours are perfect for me, the location is 3 blocks from my now quiet and seemingly large house and I LOVE the type of work I do on a daily basis. There is a small amount of drama that comes with working in an office that I had forgotten about over the last 20 years but I am older, wiser and am learning to just let it go. Some days it is easier said than done!

The empty nest issue has been harder than I had anticipated. I thought, at one time, how wonderful life would be in a world where I could spend my time in peace and quiet with a CLEAN house and not have to put on pants if I didn't want to. I have been surprised at how much I hate the quietness in the house, I miss the sounds of the video game noises from the family room and the cuss words my son would shout in frustration at the game. I miss having the boys around to cook for and talk with. I miss hearing the front door opening and closing at random hours with the kids and their friends coming and going. I miss spending time with my son's girlfriend when she lived with us... we used to sit down and watch The Real Housewives of (any city actually) and marvel at the drama these women created for themselves! What I do NOT miss is having to be 'dressed' all the time, now I can come home and hang out in my underwear and a t-shirt all evening if I want to. Many evenings though I don't go home after work just to avoid the quiet. I visit friends or go grocery shopping and often stop in to see my mother-in-law until it is time to get Wayne up for work and cook his dinner.

I have come to the realization that the kids were not the problem with having a messy house... it is my husband. He REFUSES to pick up after himself. We are seriously near battle stage at this point. I don't ask him to do much around the house, but take out trash on trash night each week and take care of his dishes daily. I cook and wash dishes, shop, do laundry, vacuum, dust and take care of the animals plus work full time AND I pack him a lunch every night before he goes to work. HOW FLIPPING HARD IS IT TO PUT A DISH IN THE DISHWASHER?  Apparently it is near impossible. Here is the situation: We do not have an eat-in kitchen and since there are only two of us I don't see any point in setting the formal dining room table for two so we eat in the living room in front of the television. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that his dinner dishes were piling up on the table next to his chair over a period of about 3 days... 3 cups, 3 plates, a couple of  cereal bowls and various silverware. I took care of MY dishes... so I waited... I thought if he want's to play games then LET'S PLAY! FINALLY, after 5 days and more accumulating dirty dishes with each passing day, before I left for work one morning, I gathered the dishes up and set them NEATLY in his chair, so he would not be able to sit without moving them.  He picked up the pile of neatly stacked dishes and moved them to the kitchen sink. REALLY?! The dishwasher is actually closer than the sink is. SO I told him in no uncertain terms that if he wanted me to continue doing things for him, ie. packing his lunch and cooking him meals every night he had to help me a little in return.  Fortunately I did not have to go on strike... sometimes the dishes pile up for a day or two but he does manage to find time to drop them in the dishwasher for me. Now if I could only get him to load it properly... but that is a battle I have chosen NOT to fight.

So in a nutshell I seldom have time to post about the trials and tribulations of raising 3 teenagers, now almost all adults, and the crazy crap we have been through but with enough encouragement and maybe a follower or two I will be a bit more diligent in putting up some monthly if not weekly posts!