Empty nesting

459616345That’s it, the summer’s really over now. We’ve just packed Ella, her Kenwood Chef and two six-drawer boxes of nail varnish and make-up back off to Manchester. I stifled a snuffle as I waved her off but it was nothing like the sick empty, well of homesickness by proxy I felt as we settled her into her first hall of residence two years ago. The ridiculously young newbie students she was sharing with are now part of her student family and have moved with her, on masse, lock stock and biscuit barrel into a new student house and will be there to meet her at the other end.

She’ll be back in two weeks – to collect her cake stand if nothing else – but with Cleo still in Croatia till this evening and the little ones at school I do feel a bit redundant and empty nesty. I just made a distracted, procrastinating trip to the empty the dishwasher and for the first time since June there’s nothing else to put into it. The sink is actually empty of saucepans.

I was in full mother hen mode this morning, offering to pack a box of staples to take with her – packets of pasta, tins of tuna and tomatoes, decaffeinated Earl Grey tea bags – but she just rolled her eyes as she snapped the lid on to another vacuum-packed bag of GAP-folded sweaters and made room for her hard hat and steel toe-capped boots (it’s a tough course, Geology, you have to dress the part). “All sorted mum – the Asda delivery’s coming at 4.”

Looks like tuna pasta bake for us tonight then. Might have to call her for the recipe though – just to check that’s she’s settled in ok…

Posted by Amanda Blinkhorn

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