Empty-Nest: A Sneak Preview

Sienna was gone between 1 to 3pm for the Chinese program. Afterwards, she went to play at Olivia's place. Around 4:30pm, I was about to pick her up. Then I got a call from Olivia's mom saying that the girls got invited to play at Jamie's house. We kind of waited and waited till we could pick her up at 8pm before we went to meet friends.

So between 1-8pm, she was basically on her own with her friends. Or, we were on our own. We were both busy. I went for grocery shopping. Hubby had been working on a house project. Still, for the stretch of 7 hours when we usual have her but didn't today, it felt strange and empty. The idea of having an empty-nest already looming -- about 14 years in advance. Then we might need the 14 years to get ready. Exactly whose independence are we fostering here?