If only it were that simple!
So my 18 year old daughter has moved into her very first apartment. The first one of the bunch to be living on her own.
She is on her own despite my encouraging her not to….encouraging her to wait….encouraging her to attain the finer things while living at home…..but to no avail.
Why is it so challenging for us to remember what it was like to be young and eager to be independent? Is it because we have faced and long forgotten the misery and joys that come with first apartments? The good old days of eating Ramen noodles every night because it’s all you could afford?
I was so excited to be on my own for the first time that my room mate and I slept on the floor of our apartment in sleeping bags because we had the keys and our furniture was only following the next day!
Oh the blissful excitement of finally being independent and able to rule your own roost!
While I wish she had waited longer and been ‘more prepared’ I understand her need for independence and I have to just step back and trust that I equipped her with wings and watch her learn to fly in an entirely new way and hope that I don’t have to mend too many broken wings.
On a side note how did I ever become old enough to have a daughter that lives on her own!? And in hindsight good thing I bought her all that first apartment stuff for Christmas this year. Oh and did I mention that during her first week on her own she got her tongue pierced?
A wonderful post that touches a nerve: my 11-year0old step-daughter is already morphing through her “tween” stage and I do not doubt that the experience you describe above will be my own all too soon! LOL
My own first place consisted of 2 rooms and a bath shared with 3 other units. I slept on a convertible sofa that had a steel frame which meant it took FOUR of us to lift it. I was working three different part-time jobs and went out and bought my first color TV with the savings. The thing weighed close to 40 pounds, but the manufacturer had put a collapsible handle on the top and advertised it as “portable”!
You really took me back with this one! LOL
Please continue your wonderful work!
Great post…I remember this all too well – I turned around and my “baby” had just turned 27! Cherish it all. Be well. ~Karen~