no one did the fall housecleaning while we were away

We didn't have to sell a cow to make it happen and we didn't take a shoe box of fried blackbirds to eat on the train, but we did manage to get daughter Ginny safely to the University of Montana this past weekend. Two in college?!? We may have to sell that cow after all...

After twenty-two years, John and I are officially empty-nesters! So far, the best thing is not having to stay awake until Ginny's curfew. The worst? That it looks like I'll never actually get to pick out my own shampoo with matching conditioner any time soon. Ginny left enough partial bottles behind to last me until the year 2027. And you know I'll be using it rather than tossing it.

Were Caroline and Charles Ingalls ever empty-nesters? I don't think so. Although Mary went to college and Laura married and moved away, I can't really think of a time when Carrie and/or Grace weren't living at home prior to Mary's graduation. After Pa's death, Ma and Mary continued to live together, so it seems as if Caroline Ingalls always had a child at home - from Mary's birth in 1865 until her own death in 1924.

And now, since I don't have to wait up for anybody, I'm going to bed!
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM