It’s quiet here this afternoon; we don’t have much of that since our son and his family moved in with us last July. Our son, Kelly, retired from the military after twenty years. He and his family had been living in Japan for 3 1/2 years, and in Hawaii for the 6 years before that. Trying to plan a new civilian life was trickier than if he had been living in CONUS (Continental US).
They lived with us temporarily until Kelly decided to open a Screenmobile franchise in this area. Once he made that commitment, the living together became longer-term. My husband and I built this house after Kelly was out on his own and my mother had died, so it was designed for us, with guest accommodations. Upstairs, there are a bathroom and two bedrooms, one of which did double-duty as my office.
Obviously, we all had to figure out how to fit in the house. My “office” is now in the dining room. I had to clean out closets and get rid of lots of stuff (overdue, I must admit) so they’d have room. They only brought what they had in their suitcases when they left Japan, so it worked. They’ve learned how little they really “need” to live with. The girls are 12 and 4 1/2, so they have different needs, too.
Having a house full has its challenges. I’m not used to cooking so often! I used to cook for two, freezing leftovers for a dinner later. Now, what I make is usually finished that night. Our water bill has tripled, and the electric bill has gone up, too.
But the rewards and joys far outweigh any inconveniences! After a decade of seldom seeing our son and/or his family, he’s right here. We had never even met the little one! What fun to build a relationship with all of them.
I’ll reflect more on this next week.