Nesting...

As 2013 slowly creeps off, 2014 shimmering in the distance, I feel a strong urge to start fresh.  Is that something we are programmed for?  Was it something my parents trained me to do? 

I remember as a kid the ritual room cleaning that had to happen.  It was always right after Christmas, before any "new" stuff could be introduced to our rooms, we had to clean out the old.  Go through the closets, what clothes fit, or didn't, what we hadn't or wouldn't wear, all put into boxes for either donations or to hand down to cousins and friends.

After the closets we moved on to the toy boxes and later (once we had outgrown toy boxes) just our stash of stuff.  Everything had to be gone through.  There was a method to the madness.  If we hadn't used it, it needed to go.  Occasionally it was put aside for a yard sale or something else, usually it was donated.

I just always assumed it was because we were military and you only had a certain weight allowance when you moved around so much.  We couldn't simply keep everything.  Until ten years ago, I still thought that.  As I carried the tradition forward with my children.  For every new and old had to go. 

Next we moved on to cobweb dusting, walls washed down, carpets cleaned, all the heavy cleaning happened as the tree and decorations started to vanish.

When I started working crazy hours about 10 years ago, things slowly started to change for me.  I no longer had the time.  I stopped worrying about it... ten years is a long time to accumulate "stuff". 

It is driving me crazy!  As there are big changes happening around the house this winter, I think it is finally time to tackle some of the stuff. 

2013 started the ball rolling, our oldest moved 45 minutes away.  That doesn't seem like far, until you really start to think about it, and try to incorporate it into your life.  At which point it becomes very far away.  

In my eyes this man is still my baby!

Our son wrapped up his college career and has finally found a job that he is looking forward to starting.  It means that shortly after the fireworks and champagne that brings in the new year and before we celebrate his next birthday he will be moving.  He will be the furthest away of all the kids and it will be the hardest for me to deal with.  After all, despite the fact that he doesn't like me to say it... he is my baby and we've never been so far apart before.

Hubby with his youngest two angels!

The twins... well they are typical teens.  Between school, work, friends and enjoying their senior year they have very little time for us.  We see them rarely.  We see the youngest of the two the most.  She is the one most like Dad and makes the most time for him and her older sister. 

All of this means one thing... we truly have become empty-nesters.  It's bitter sweet.  With it comes more freedom for us as a couple.  It also brings much quieter holidays and weekends.  I think we are both okay with it, but it does signal the need to start making some changes. 

This week I will be helping the boy sort out what he still needs from his college days to carry forward to his adult life, and in the process start cleaning out the house.  His room will basically stay the same, as he is the one most likely to come home to visit and stay with us.  We will make a decision about maybe moving the lizard into his room to keep the turtle company.  As Picasso has definitely gotten used to having someone in there with him and Yuri is lonely.  Poor guy was rescued for girls that wanted a lizard so badly and then are never here to spend time with him.

I am feeling a strong need to clean it all out.  To start fresh, to redo spaces and clean out clutter that has been accumulating for far too long. If the boy was not moving so far I would gladly give him much of it to furnish his home.  Like we did with his sister as she prepared to start her adult life. 

It's time to start cleaning out cobwebs... and start refeathering our nest...