Wife and a Empty Nest

@bulldog9899, I still have my little girls at home but my oldest leaving for college 3,000 miles away was really hard on me. My advice for her is to stay out of his room, and try to avoid going through his baby pictures. Lol. It didn’t help that his youngest sister would burst into tears when we Skyped. She missed him terribly.

For me, nothing I’ve ever done will compare to putting kids forth in the world, so it’s a bit sad to see an end to that part of my life. I try to remind myself that these are good problems to have, having our boys turn into men, daughters turn into women. I tell myself that I’m grateful he’s not home playing video games and making a butt dent on the couch.

We tend to value and love what we sacrifice for. I think that’s likely more true than its inverse.

Hormones are real. @ peri symptoms. I’ve always been so healthy and felt great, so this is pretty discouraging, on multiple levels.

Write a how-to book and you’ll be a millionaire

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Same for her. Never any “female problems”, and she works her butt off to be fit and eat healthy.

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Same. I’m not sure aging is so great for men either, but since we had the babies kicking us in the bladder and giving us heartburn for 9 months, and experienced labor, it seems only fair that you guys be the ones who have to do the menopause part. The worst part of this is I think this could go on for years. I’m sometimes nauseated, like I have morning sickness again. Not to mention, more than my normal level of MEAN.

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You guys really make having kids sound like a blast.

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Aww!!! This is exactly what I am feeling like with my son right now!

He’s only a couple weeks away from being in jr. high, which doesn’t seem like THAt big of a deal. But we are best friends and do everything together. It’s going to be a big adjustment when he starts to develop into social circles and interests that are away from me.

*sob

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Well I did warn her that once the boys went to school that she needed to be worried about me chasing her around the house with my penis.

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Yeah and that chance never came about not having girls… I did get to watch mama bear scare one of my oldest girlfriend.

Luckily neither of the boys are that far the farthest is only a hour or so away. I would hate to see how my wife would be if one of them was that far away as in your case. She diffidently had a hard reaction at dinner last night with neither one of them home.

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Yeah, the MEAN takes me by surprise at times. She never had the PMS meanness that I’d heard horror stories about. Aside from feminine product wrappers in the trash, I almost could never tell what time of the month it was. If this is any indication, boy am I lucky to have missed it for so long!
And speaking of unfair, we boys can be treated pretty easily for our age-related hormone deficiencies. I had been feeling BAD for 6-8 months, got checked and have just begun TRT. It has made a very noticeable improvement in just about all aspects of my life in just a month. My poor wife is glad I feel better, but I suspect she is at least a little jealous of just how easy it was for me.

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Oh God!!! They get meaner? Holy shit…

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@bulldog9899, I want to say you guys are a bit younger than @Dr_J2 and me.

Maybe you should suggest having another baby.

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As far as I can tell, and considering I lost my dad just before he ever got to meet my children, you having a healthy and happy life after raising your children means you have that much longer to spend it by their side instead of supervising them. My dad had me at almost 50 - I had my first kidat 24 and I feel lucky to have done so.

Also, being nearly 30 now and one of the only people in my graduating grade to have any kids so far, I can’t wait to call up my friends when I’m 35 and they have newborns and just be like “How’s the sleeping going? Yeah my kid just made himself breakfast, took a shit and got on the bus to school. Enjoy the crying and pooping.”

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Agree, and sorry that your dad didn’t get to see your kids. Ideally, we’d all like to live long and healthy lives, get to see our kids turn into independent adults, and get to see the next generation going forward.

@ Waiting until you’re in your 30s or 40s to have kids. I think a lot of people want to meet all their career, travel, acquiring homes and nice stuff goals before they consider family. Priorities, and economic factors like high housing costs driving that. Not all bad, but there are other costs to these decisions for sure. I had my first one at 26, and in my area I felt like a very young mom. Many of my friends from that time are 10 years older. It was a lot easier on my body than the one I had at 34, that’s for sure.

This is another way to go, @bulldog9899. I’ve posted this before. This was the joke at our house. My husband wasn’t really keen on having another baby, or adopting a high school student from Korea. I think it’s probably good for kids to know they can be replaced. wink.

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Are you sure about that? You do know im 46?

Someone has already suggested to my wife to considering adoption… Yeah I dont know on that one.

Ok, unless you married someone a lot younger, having another baby may not be the best plan. It seemed like such an obvious solution. Lol.

My sister-in-law bought a little purse dog at this phase. She takes it everywhere. I think she may love it more than her kids. Seriously, her kids have made this observation.

Bulldog, @ age. I was a senior when you were a freshman, or something like that. Not sure about Dr J.

Purse dog no talk back. Purse dog love unconditionally and is not prone to emotional outbursts…makes sense to me :wink:

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That’s funny! We got our first ever indoor dog December 2016, and my wife just got a cat. As to age, I turn 50 next week.

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Ok, we’re almost the same age. I’ll be 50 next summer.

@ Adding kids. My brother had his first (and only) baby at 46, so Bulldog’s age. His wife is 17 years younger. I’m really happy for him. He was a bachelor for a long time. @bulldog9899 , it’s probably not a good idea to share that story with your wife. Not one bit helpful. Haha.

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