Movin' In and Movin' On

Well, it's officially Empty Nest Time again in the household.

Son Luke and his pretty bride Jackie skeedaddled to Birmingham a couple weeks ago, and we moved son Thomas into his first apartment in Troy this afternoon.

That's gonna be interesting to watch. It's a weird little mix of personalities, which Thomas assures me won't make any difference once he hooks up Guitar Hero. In his words, "Mom, when you turn that on, everybody is friends."

Stuart must weigh less than 100 pounds soaking wet, and is a Type I diabetic who desperately needs to gain weight. Seriously -- his insulin injections aren't effective enough because you have to inject into FAT to get it to metabolize properly, and he ain't got none.

He's an odd lookin' fella, too -- very delicate, but most affable, and quite polite. My only worry is that he and Thomas are so compatible Thomas won't follow through on his intentions to get OUT and meet people.

Peter is very quiet. His father is a professor at UAB Med School, and he and his wife are both from Romania. They were very nice, and we exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses. Peter didn't have much to say, but it was in a very nice way.

I can't remember the other roommate's name. Definitely the Tab Hunter of the group -- handsome, aloof but polite, very preppy. He has a fiance, so I don't expect he's going to be much of a presence in the apartment.

The most interesting thing is that we were the only people who brought anything for the kitchen.

Peter's parents bought him a meal plan, so he's not expecting to use it at all.

I don't think Stuart eats.

And Tab Hunter's probably about nothing but protein drinks.

Oh well. More room for Thomas and the ramen noodles.

Anyway, we sorta burned a year last year during our inaugural Empty Nest year, and I really have a mind to change that this year. To that end, we have set aside one night a week as NO INTERFERENCE night -- no internet, we'll either go to a movie or dinner, or just stay here and enjoy sitting in the same room which we rarely ever do anymore.

There are times I yearn for a Stiletto marriage, but I am very grateful for the Old Fuzzy Pink Slipper kind, too.