They Love Us, They Love Us Not, They Love Us…

From the time the kids flew off to Grandma’s, an eerie stillness descended on our home. Three glorious weeks of blessed peace, the luxury of curling up with a good book and knowing I could actually finish it without interruption.

They say you never really know how much you miss something until it’s no longer around. In six years, I’d never been away from them for longer than a weekend – and I had no idea I’d miss them this badly. Gone were the spontaneous hugs, slobbery kisses and endless chatter. Heck, I was even beginning to miss the screaming, squealing, squabbling and whining. Obviously, the sudden ‘overdose’ of peace and quiet was driving me a little crazy.

I thought about them almost every spare minute, and resisted the urge to call them several times a day. It would be nice to say that they missed us as much as we missed them, but Hubby and I were soon painfully aware that we were no match for the combined force of 16 cousins and 21 days of unbridled play. Son was reluctant to abandon playtime to speak to us, and only did so to launch into a string of complaints about his sister and various other offending cousins. Daughter was a little more responsive, and passionately declared her love for us … and for the 3 pairs of new shoes her aunts bought her.

Is this what the Empty Nest syndrome feels like? I guess we should be happy that the kids are secure enough to be away from us for so long. After all, the goal of parenting is to raise kids who are happy, secure and independent, right? We should grab this chance to take that holiday to Taman Negara, the one we’d put on hold for a few years due to the un-kid-friendly nature of the wild and untamed outdoors.

All that remains is to quell the rising bout of kid-sickness welling up inside me. “The kids are happy, secure and independent. And I look forward to our holiday in Taman Negara.” Repeat 1,000 times. Or maybe we’re lousy parents, and they can’t wait to get away from us? “We’re good parents and our kids are happy, secure and independent. We’re good parents and our kids are happy, secure and independent.” Repeat 1,000 times.