High School Senior in the House

Having a high school senior in the house means planning an open house, which means cleaning out the house and garage by having a garage sale, which means running an ad in the paper that costs $18.95, selling about 20 bucks worth of junk, then packing up all the remaining stuff and making a trip to Goodwill or stuffing it all back into the closets with the happy dust bunnies.

Having a high school senior in the house means everyone, who did not already have one, gets a job, then shares the car with the other ones that already had jobs, so that everyone can get to work on time, so they can pool their income and pay tuition. The family that pays together, stays together. Or something like that.

Having a high school senior in the house, who is also the baby of the family, means complicated emotions involving  involuntary flashbacks of times past, which causes unexpected outbursts of sobbing, followed by breathless panic attacks related to the unknowns on the horizon.

Having a high school senior in the house causes the mother in the house to audibly hear every tick of the clock, especially during the night when sleep evades.

I love having a high school senior in the house. In fact, I never want to be without one.

They say it's important to enjoy every minute- time is fleeting. But who knew I'd have to  fight off so many feelings to save the smiles that once stayed fixed upon my face.

I'm off to enjoy an evening of watching old movies with my high school senior, who is babysitting across the street. I am currently smiling.