The Alabama Housewife

​Southern Humorist, Storyteller and Writer

Over the course of the next few weeks I am going to be sharing some of the lessons I wrote about a few years ago when

I had a Dear Abby style column in Good Grit Magazine.

It was a lot of fun to write that one and

I hope you'll enjoy revisiting it with me here. 

It seems like you and your husband have adjusted beautifully to living in an empty nest. My youngest is about to leave and I already grieve the days when we were a family of five under one roof. I also feel guilty when my husband and I take trips without our children. How do you make it work?



    Honestly, we have been preparing for years. Not because we wanted our children to leave us. Quite the opposite. We simply know that the best way to be good parents to them is to be a good husband and wife to each other. A big way we did that was keeping a regular date night. Sometimes that meant dressing up and having a fancy supper somewhere and sometimes it meant grabbing a six pack of Budweiser and sitting on the tailgate watching the sun set. We were running for years from football games and theatre performances to wrestling matches and show choir competitions so easing into this slower phase of life has been nice. Of course, we miss our children more than the law should allow. Still, we are so happy for the lives they are making for themselves and it gives us great enjoyment watching them grow. And don’t let yourself feel guilty about moving into the next stage of your life and marriage. You wouldn’t want your children to feel guilty about moving forward would you? You shouldn’t either. Relax and enjoy. You’ve earned it.