Chapter II of our Summer 2012 Empty Nester Training Course kicks off in earnest at the end of this week.
We passed the exam for Chapter I earlier this month. Chapter II, however, will be quite a bit more taxing.
Let me take a moment to set the stage for you before I go into an in-depth analysis of the syllabus for our course. When Paul was accepted for Governor’s School and Holly registered for Study Abroad, Lisa and I were officially enrolled in the Empty Nester Training Course. It prepares parents of teens and twentysomethings for the future shock of being thrust into the world of Parents Without Kids Living at Home (PWOKLAH or “Piwockla”s).
Registration is NOT voluntary; participation is mandatory. The course is non-credit. And you do all the coursework, study and tests on your own.
(Before you get the idea that we found a real college course that prepares you, let me just say there is no such course. It’s just fantasy. But the more I type, the more I think it would be a good idea if someone set one up!).
Thus, Lisa and I have approached this summer independent study with a positive outlook and a progressive agenda. We have made plans to tackle a number of summer projects, for example. We have also reached out to some friends to make some social plans. It will be fun to catch up with them.
And we’ve had more than one fun, romantic date night.
We also have our bats; We’ve been learning to use our new phones. Lisa has been doing some fairly major landscaping. She had the chance to spend a quality day with her dad. She also got a beautiful manicure that she has really enjoyed. It looks lovely.
I think filling the agenda is a major component of passing this course. So far/So good.
And so it was when we ‘covered’ Chapter I a few weeks ago. Paul was fully ensconsed at Governor’s School for the Arts when Holly headed to her second Bonnaroo experience. I gather that it was “Pretty amazing” as she sang and swayed to the strains of tunes from diverse artists ranging from Fun and the Fruit Bats to the Beach Boys.
So, for five days, it was “Just the Two of Us.” Conversations were lively and meaningful. We had FUN, too.
That first five day period segways into Chapter II. It begins, in earnest, as Holly heads to France for Study Abroad. She leaves on Saturday. From the time her flight takes off, we will have a nearly a week until we head back to Murfreesboro to see the finale of Paul’s Governor’s School experience (and then pack up his stuff, help him check out and head home).
This summer really serves as good preparation for what lies ahead not TOO far in the future for us when Holly heads to grad school and Paul finishes up at FHS and enrolls at the college of his choice. The calendar has a large red circle a little more than a year from now. It reads: “Fall 2013.”
It COULD be a major hammer for the unitiated. But, as I mentioned earlier, we haven’t taken this lightly. What we’ve experienced with this year will have amply prepped us for what’s to come.
I predict our final grade will be a good one. Our transcript will read: “Prepared, as much as we can be, for the next phase of Parenthood.”
JG
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