Ken used to joke that our boys would live with us forever, but I knew better. Even before there was a baby in the picture, I knew KC and Allie wanted their own place. I also knew they were uncertain they could pull it off, so they stayed even when they would have rather had been anywhere but at our house or her parents' place.
Then came Riley and things got crowded. They suddenly had more of everything to store. Clothes, boxes of diapers and wipes, stuffed animals, children's books, a crib, a changing table, and toys had to be integrated into their already cramped bedrooms.
Add into the mix that they're new parents living with people who love them dearly but also haven't quite figured out to stop parenting them. I admit I'm struggling here. I'm trying to get better, but it's work. Sad, sometimes depressing work. But that's another blog post. Back to their situation.
Over time, it made for some stressful days, nights, and even weeks. I could see it wearing on them and, frankly, on us. I imagine her family found it stressful, too, when they stayed there for weeks at a time. I could see the stress it was putting on my boy. He's usually a pretty passive, laid-back individual. It takes a lot for him to get truly angry enough to lose his temper, but lose it he did. Not often, but enough to make it clear he was unhappy with their situation.
When he finally made the decision to rent a little, two-bedroom apartment, he was so happy. Joyous even. He had been steadily saving money for a down payment on a house. Yet, when this place became available for a price he felt he could manage on a monthly basis, it was too much of an opportunity for him to pass up. The need to get out and on their own was real.
It happened in a blur after that. They looked at the apartment (townhouse? duplex?) and signed the contract shortly thereafter. The old farmhouse had been split into two residences. The kids are in the smaller of the two, which also happened to be the cheaper of the two. Luckily, it's the perfect size for a little family just starting out on their own. It has two bedrooms and one bathroom. No bathtub, only a shower stall. A "Michigan basement", which means it has a low roof and dirt floors.
Ken and I thought we'd help them and ourselves out by offering them our basement furniture. It's only a couple of years old and in fairly good shape. Ken just didn't find it as comfortable as he had hoped he would when we had bought it for the basement's man cave. So, we gave that to the kids and went out to buy a new set for ourselves. I also got a new kitchen table; it only took 25 years for us to get to this point but it was worth the wait!
So, the kids had KC's bed from his bedroom, her dressers from her house, the crib from her house, our old living room furniture, and an entertainment center from her mom. There's no room for a dining room table. If there had been, they could have taken our old one. Instead, that's getting moved up to KC's old bedroom for me to work at in the upcoming months until we get his room remodeled.
It's been strange watching them create their own little nest. A good kind of strange. I'm super proud of them and think this will make their lives so much better, even if they will have bills and responsibilities they're not accustomed to having. They get to be independent. They get to determine how their daily lives look and feel. I remember that feeling when Ken and I got our first place together. It was glorious. So freeing. I hope that's what they feel right now. Free. Happy. Content.
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