Emily is attending a college orientation/welcome event today. I’m feeling pretty good about where we are in the “prepping for college” process. She’s excited about her new adventures, I’m slowly making plans for my own adventures, it feels right.
One of the events that every parent faces once the kids start to move on is what to do with The Room. My mother kept mine as a sort of shrine for awhile, she had a tough time with me leaving. My husband’s mom was more practical, she packed up his belongings and put them all in storage. Bye bye Jim, hello guest room.
I’m going to try something a little more middle of the road. Since Em and I share a lot of interests, primarily the crafty/creative stuff, I proposed creating a shared space together. We’re donating/freecycling/craigslisting her captain’s bed, getting rid of the small dresser, and culling/boxing/storing some clothes. A futon will provide seating and sleeping space for when she comes home, while taking up less space than her old bed. Walls will get painted, carpet cleaned, closet cleared and reorganized. There’s no solid decision on colors or themes yet, but we both have a thing for nautical so we might go that route.
Finally, the rest of the stuff goes in: costumes, sewing stuff(ok, really a lot of sewing stuff), art supplies(yes, I freely admit to a large stash of that as well!), framing up some photos, more things I’m sure…
So that’s the plan. I think when she gets back today we’ll do a little online browsing for futons, and design ideas.
If you don’t hear from us for a couple of days, we’re probably stuck in Pinterest-land.
thejoyfulemptynest 
Watching them leave the nest is bittersweet. Try not to let the bitter be stronger than the sweet. After all, we have slowly been preparing them for this their whole lives. It would be a tragedy if they never left.