The Adult Years

Tuesday, October 12, 2010
As many of you know, the Smart Man and I have been picking away at at mini-remodel here at the Big Yellow House for the last six months or so. We had the floors in the kitchen and bathrooms replaced, and have been painting and freshening up one room a month through the summer.

And it's weird.

It's weird because for the last 20 years I've made decisions about my house and lifestyle based not only on what I prefer and can afford, but on the idea that I need to share my domicile with minor children whose needs and preferences are quite different from my own. The kids' bedrooms have been converted into guest rooms, which I'm decorating to suit myself. The fourth bedroom has been converted to the Smart Man's music room, which he is decorating to suit himself. We still have family photos everywhere, but sports and gaming equipment, arts and crafts, backpacks and winter coats that used to be strewn all over the house are all gone.

Our house is starting to resemble a space where only adults live.

It's way too big for us, now, of course. Four bedrooms, a living room, a family room and a finished basement are a bit much for two people and a large dog. We're not planning on selling until the Smart Girl has graduated from college, though, because she has an open offer to live here rent-free as long as she's a full-time student and it would be pretty rude to sell and move into a smaller place after extending her that backup plan. But once she's started on her new career, we'll be moving to our retirement home. Which will also be a place where only adults live - only smaller.

It's just the next stage of my life - The Adult Years. It's exciting. It's fulfilling. It's fun. But it's still weird.

3 comments:

Matt said...

I remember well my parents doing the same thing when my younger brother finally moved out (aged 29). I hadn't been home for a bit, so I caught the full effect at once, though it took them about a year to get through major projects. Mom was working for a furniture and flooring wholesaler at the time and took full advantage of her discount! Embrace it, Janiece, and let out your inner decorator. This is your chance to do all of those things you've seen in magazines and thought, "that would be cool."

Janiece said...

Vagabond, I'm totally digging it. It's just an odd place to be, after so many years of "family living."

I'm sure you're having the same shift, only in the opposite direction...

David said...

Enjoy it, and report back!

I just know when I get to that stage I will be adrift. Living with dependent children is such an intense - and, for someone who was always ambivalent about kids until he had them, amazing - thing.

But I'm already planning to convert one of the rooms into a library. :)

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tolatio: the act of being REALLY, REALLY open-minded.