Oldest Son Moves Out... (AGAIN)

Almost two years ago, our eldest child came limping back home with a broken heart and an English bulldog in tow.

He left his girlfriend after she cheated on him...took the $3000 puppy she had given him for Christmas and headed back to the nest for some TLC.

He was almost as sad looking as the fat little "UGA" he had brought with him.

We took both of them back into our home and heart, and gave up the cozy den we had made in his former bedroom.

He said he just needed to be somewhere that he was loved. (He got me with THAT one).
He only needed a couple of months to regroup and he would be moving on again.

Two years later...He regrouped.

After the first year, we decided to get him a bed to sleep in, we were hoping that the uncomfortable couch he had been assigned to sleep on would encourage a quick move (it did NOT).

During this time, we began to get weary of his presence(when he DID decide to stop by for clean clothes, a free meal and to pat his dog on the head).

His room was always a wreck, and if he didn't have a sweetie at the time, he'd be home. If his love life was swinging...we wouldn't see him for days on end, all we had to remember him by was the total wreck of a room that he left with dirty clothes piled four feet high and empty soda cans and chip bags.

When he FINALLY found a place with some frat bros. we started to dread him taking the dog. We are all big dog lovers and although it was tough to make "Charlie" realize his pecking order with my two boxers...after he got his butt beat a few times from jumping on my dogs, they settled into a happy co existence. We came to call Charlie, and my male boxer, Ham... our own little "Sigfried and Roy". Their game was 'I'll hump on you for a while, and then I'll give you your turn'. Meanwhile, my female boxer Rosie...just lay in the yard and looked at them like they were idiots (which they are, but we love them anyway).

The big day arrived...THE MOVE OUT!!

I was just waking up for my Friday day shift, when my sixteen year old son came into my room and forlornly said "Well, TJ is all moved out".

I leaned over the side of my king size bed and looked underneath...the bulldog was snoring loudly, happy in the spot that we referred to as "his cave"...because my two boxers were too big to get under the bed. I got up to start a pot of coffee and looked into my son's room. All the furniture was still there, his computer, shoes,trophies, plaques, radio and all his books and such. I remarked to my younger son "You mean that your brother took some clothes and left".

My young son said "Oh, he'll be back for his stuff tomorrow".

I had already bought a couch from a co worker, two nice club chairs and had a butterfly table in the garage ready to re assemble my den.

When I got home from work, I told my two younger kids that we were going to help TJ by moving all of his things into the garage so it would be easier for him to pick them up the next day. We took apart his bed (that he wasn't taking, because it was my parent's and he had already gotten another) and I had Zach move it upstairs piece by piece to re assemble it in his room, where he had been sleeping the floor after out growing the futon he had had since he was nine.

We moved every bit of sports equipment, posters from the wall , trophies clothes and shoes out to the garage and dusted vacuumed and cleaned the entire room and began to move my couch, chairs and table into my new den.

After one hour, I had my den back , and if I can say so myself...it looked GREAT!!

The next night I got home from work, and TJ was sitting on my new sofa in my new den, watching TV (he came back to wash his four foot high pile of clothes while he still had access to free detergent and a washer and a dryer).

I could tell that he was a little miffed at how quickly I had changed things, but he had the good grace to say "the room looks nice".

My daughter told me later that when TJ first came back...he made the comment "It looks like an old lady's room".

Guess what? It is NOW !! and 'This' ole lady is LOVIN it!!

My only regret is that he took the bulldog... we miss him.

My son seems happy in his new digs...and I know that I am happy in mine..."My ole lady's room".

You never know with kids...he may be back...and we'll let him come back, but if he does, he will be sleeping in an 'ole lady's' room and it will stay that way.

I love him, and we do actually miss him now that he is gone, but it is nice to not look at a mess of a room; but be able to walk into my 'ole lady's paradise and feel comfortable and put my feet up, give myself a manicure and enjoy doing my laundry while I watch whatever channel I want on the TV.

But I still miss the dog...

Til next time... OLE LADY COTTON