I'm Still Alive

I know I've been gone from my blog for some time, but I have a good excuse. I've been in Central Florida for the past couple of weeks getting my older kids settled into their apartment. My daughter had been renting a townhouse with some friends, but they've either graduated or moved to other places. The townhouse was awful, filled with all kinds of maintenance problems that took forever to get taken care of. My oldest son R had also talked about moving up to Central Florida because there are many more job opportunities here and the cost of living is lower than in South Florida. So we found a nice apartment complex and I've been here with my daughter and youngest son E helping get them settled. We didn't get internet until yesterday, which is why I hadn't been able to post.

The townhouse where A had been living was fully furnished, so she had no furniture to speak of. R, living at home, didn't have anything to contribute either. So we found a couple of comfy couches at a furniture outlet store that are brand new for $600. These would easily have cost over $800 at the regular store, so it's a good deal. We also got mattresses for them, since their bedroom sets at home are small and it was time for them to upgrade to queen sized beds. I went to a few thrift stores but couldn't find anything they could use. Most of the furniture they had were china cabinets and hutches, things my kids don't need. So instead we went to Walmart and Target, and found a great table with 4 chairs at Target for $229. It's wood stained in an espresso color, very modern and comfortable. I also found a matching tv stand at Big Lots on sale. The regular price was $99.99, but they were having a 20% off everything in the store day and we were able to get it for $79.99. Considering the closest thing we saw at Walmart was over $150, I think we got a very good deal.

This move is bittersweet. I'm thankful they have a nice place, and that we have been able to help them get settled, but I know I'll be saying goodbye soon, and that is filling me with great sorrow. They are grown-ups, of course. R is 24 years old and A is 21. Both will be finishing up school soon and starting their work careers, Lord willing. This is what parents raise their children for, so that one day they can live independently and hopefully begin families of their own. It doesn't make it any easier for me, though. I'm going to miss them terribly. I'm thankful God saw fit to give me my youngest son to keep me from having that "empty nest" too soon. I don't think I'm ready for it.

There's still plenty to do around here, and E and I will most likely be here till Sunday or Monday. I need to get back to blogging again. It's my release when my feelings feel overly bottled up.