Mom Gone, Boys Thrive

The boys survived the week without Mom.  I was in TX the entire week for training for a new job.  I was wary about leaving my family for so long, but they did just fine without me.  In their words:  Ryan said, "I am not dead."  Nick texted, "I am foog," which I think was mis-typed but auto-correct made it worse.  Then Cameron humorously commented, "The house burnt down, but other than that, I am fine."  Yes, I missed my boys.

So I arrived home, not looking forward to the laundry and grocery shopping.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Their laundry was done, folded, and in the process of being put away.  (I bet someone yelled, "Mom's home," and they ran to put clothes in their proper dressers.

Then I found the refrigerator about as full as I left it.  Plenty of vegetables and fruit.  My boys didn't look scrawny, nor did they complain of hunger.  What did they eat? I checked with my husband.  Mike confirmed that they ate, and ate well. Mike pointed out that Nick started dinner on Friday, scrambling up eggs.  So they consumed food all week.  Probably just not the veggies.  So I really did not have to do grocery shopping for them.

So no laundry and shopping.  Except for what I needed done.  My sons continue to surprise me at their adapting abilities.  It's one step closer to total independence for all of them.

That is GOOD.

Ryan's New Place

The realtor told us that there was a waiting list.  She encouraged Ryan to apply because she never knew when there would be an opening.  She could not tell us, an average, what the wait might be.  She encouraged Ryan to submit an application if he wanted to move sooner vs later.

When Ryan submitted his application a month later for an apartment, he was informed that there would be an opening at the beginning of the next month.  That was a lot sooner than we anticipated.  Ryan, his dad, and I agreed that Ryan would probably be more successful on his own if we had another year to refine several life skills.  A month to move out pushed our "schedule" up by 11 months.  However, Ryan agreed to take the apartment enthusiastically.

The month passed quickly.  We planned and focused.  What would Ryan need immediately?  What could wait?  What could he borrorw?  Could friends and family donate items?

Within the month Ryan asked if he could take an item, or he pointed out that we don't use that thing.  He slowly accumulated a few tools and pieces of furniture.

His moving day quickly arrived!

His idea of packing was very different than mine, but then again, he had never moved.  I showed him how to pack breakables, and the rest went as he saw fit.  We rented a truck, and the move was done with the help of his parents and brothers.

Since he didn't have much, it didn't take long to move and set up.  When all was done, he transformed a "tin can" into a home.  I was impressed.  His living room had more functional furniture than I did after a few yeas of being on my own.  His furniture actually looked nice as well.  Not too bad for a bunch of hand-me-downs.

Ryan enjoyed it all because this was HIS place.