Three of our children have left the nest and it is strange. In fact, two of them have not only left the nest, they've actually left the country altogether. I encouraged them to document their adventures - whether by blog or by Instagram - but I don't have high hopes for that so I figured the next best thing is for their mama to do some documenting.
First, here are the basics. Oskar is in Japan. Kiersten is in Canada. Annika is at the opposite end of the state. Kardynn is never home. Tonight I'm home alone for the first time in I don't know how long. Right now it's novel and kind of nice - not going to lie - but of course I would happily swap it out for the company of any of the aforementioned hoodlums.
First impressions of nearly-empty-nesting?
- I have soooo much free time now. This is partially because not only has our household shrunk in half, but we've gone from three high schools to one; we're not doing any sports - high school or travel; there's no one who needs a ride from me, ever. We have almost twice as many cars parked outside, as people in the house so it's kind of ridiculous how unnecessary it is for me to give anyone a ride. (Side not, if you know someone who's in the market for a low-mileage 2007 Honda Pilot, let me know!)
- I don't know how to cook - or shop - for just three people. It's weird. Once upon a time we were a household of two but this is kind of blowing my mind. I look in the fridge and in the pantry and realize that I have a bunch of stuff for XYZ person and half the time XYZ person is no longer in the house. Oops! So I'm trying to wrap my head around new recipes and new shopping habits.
- I switched out my minivan for a mid-size SUV. I'm loving my new wheels but it's kind of bizarre to have a vehicle that can't even seat all of my family. Dwight keeps reminding me that we almost never all squeezed into the minivan anymore anyway but it's definitely a big step in the empty-nest direction.
But enough about me.
Oskar
The main reason I wanted to write was because I wanted to be sure to jot down the tales from when Oskar first arrived in Tokyo.
We dropped him off at the airport around 9:30 am. We were off to a shaky start because in the 11th hour we realized that the trunk-style "suitcase" I bought him was a little bit too big. When you included the wheels and handle, the height + length + diameter was a little more than 62 inches. It was under weight and he only had one bag to check but we drove to the airport with two empty suitcases in the trunk, in case we needed to re-pack at the last minute. Fortunately they didn't give him a hard time.
The day before Oskar left I thought, "Oh, we should have gotten some yen for him." Around the time I was having that thought, Oskar gave away the last of his cash (to some students going door-to-door collecting cash for Kardynn's high school's band program - which amuses me greatly). Sadly it never crossed my mind that while not having yen has unfortunate, having NO cash was a grave error in judgment. Doh!
We did have one coup in that the credit card I encouraged Oskar to apply for (once again, in the 11th hour), did arrive literally the day before he left. That day he also ordered a Sim card to pick up at the airport when he arrived in Tokyo. And we got him to download WhatsApp at the restaurant where we ate breakfast, on our way to the airport. I also helped him download a Google Map for the part of Tokyo where he'd be traveling.
So off he went with a super heavy carry-on, a relatively-light but slightly-too big-bag to check, WhatsApp on his phone, a downloaded map of part of Tokyo, no cash, one credit card, two debit cards, one passport, one student visa and no return ticket.
I was proud of him that he did ask about the possibility of getting an exit row seat but no luck for his 6'6" self on that front. That said he did end up with an empty seat next to him so perhaps he was able to use that to his advantage.
At 3:30 am I woke up to a ping from WhatsApp. Oskar had made it to Tokyo and picked up his sim card, but it would probably take a day to activate. Fortunately the airport has free wifi. Meanwhile, he stood in a long line for the ATM, only to discover that he'd never actually set a pin for the internationally-friendly ATM card that he planned to use. He also wasn't sure he was accurately deciphering the all-Japanese metro card vending machine but he'd understood enough to know that he needed cash to buy a ticket.
It seems he eventually got all of that sorted out because two hours later I got my next message from him. He'd managed to get himself to his share house - which included a bit of a walk from the metro station which apparently made the relatively-light suitcase seem NOT light at all. When he arrived, a fellow-English speaker had gotten numbers mixed up and was in the process of moving into Oskar's room.
I've heard from him a few more times and all seems to be going well. He's managed to get himself to the university and back. He's met some other people (though not sure if he lives near any of them or whether they'll be in any of his classes.) He's not sent a single picture - naturally.
Kiersten
She seems to really be enjoying her classes and classmates. She likes her roommates. She's managing to keep herself fed. She's navigating public transit. The other day I begged for a photo and got this.
She went to an all-you-can-eat sushi place with my cousin Jillian. Apparently it was amazing. I can't wait to try it on a future visit. She also tried poutine at the local Costco. Who knew Canadian Costcos not only have poutine but vegetarian poutine?! So now I want to try that too!
Annika
This one actually sends me photos and if she ever reads this, I want her to know that I very much appreciate it. She and I have a 140 day snapchat streak going. She transferred schools this year and I think she's mostly happy about the change. She's having to take a mandatory intro to engineering class with a bunch of freshman. Ha! She's also taking Physics, Calc 3 and a Public Speaking class that she switched to virtual. (Seriously?! Virtual Public Speaking?!) She seems to be enjoying going to a school that has a football team. Otherwise I'm not sure how much socializing she does on campus - she and her roommate don't live super close to campus. Speaking of her and her roommate, I should mention that between the two of them they have four cats - four very cute cats but four cats nonetheless.
Last month the two of them had an epic adventure to Hawaii. They came back with lots of stories and new tattoos.
Kardynn
Between her new job and managing the volleyball team, we never see this girl. I'm impressed that she's managing to stay on top of stuff because she also has a heavy academic load. But so far so good.
