It was dinner time. Only Butch and I sat by the dinner table. “We’re alone.” My husband sighed. “This is a preview of our empty nest” . My two daughters moved in to their dormitory yesterday. Of course, they will be home during the weekends or on wednesday for my daughter studying in UP. It seems my husband is more emotional than me when it comes to the children . Like I wrote in a previous entry, Butch is my co-homemaker and acts more motherly than me sometimes. Well, I teased “we need to live together in harmony now that we’re alone most of the time.“. He nodded “We have all the time to be ourselves but it’s lonely without the children“. He continued to mope. What we felt is normal. We’ve heard of empty nest syndrome as college students when we left our parents for dorm living. We both came from large families and the empty nest didn’t occur overnight. We had no idea what it was like until both of our children left for semi-independent dorm living. After reading my daughter’s declaration of semi-independent living, I wonder how my husband will take it after she leaves us after graduation. So what is empty nest syndrome?
Empty nest syndrome refers to the grief that many parents feel when their children move out of home. This condition is typically more common in women, who are more likely to have had the role of primary career. Unlike the grief experienced when (for example) a loved one dies, the grief of empty nest syndrome often goes unrecognised, because an adult child moving out of home is seen as a normal, healthy event. Upset parents may find few sources of support or sympathy. In many cases, [tag]empty nest syndrome[/tag] is compounded by other difficult life events or significant changes happening around the same time, such as retirement or menopause. Source
The poetry therapy at the 
Today I will indulge in the joy of celebrating my 49 years. For too long, I have been hard on myself. Others have spilled their negative energy on me. I know it had nothing to do with me. I am a gift to myself and to the Universe . I am a child of God. I do not have to try harder , be better, be perfect , or be anything I am not. My beauty lies in me just as I am each moment. I will celebrate that. 
My husband’s office is in Intramuros and we often date at the quaint old coffee shops like the Illustrado . As students in the late seventies, we went as far as Luneta Park just because we were broke. Old Manila and its splendor enraptures our heart . The atmosphere is just romantic for sentimental couples like us. During all the years we’ve been together, we never caught the [tag]sunset[/tag], overrated as it is, my daughter often says. So who cares? It’s the company you keep. When I fetched Butch at work last week, we dropped by the boardwalk just to stroll. No we were not broke. We just wanted to walk and talk. Sadly, the boardwalk was closed or abandoned. Corny as it is, the sunset was breathtaking especially since I was walking hand in hand with the love of my life. I couldn’t get a clear shot because the ship and the boardwalk covered the sun. 
That’s my younger brother , 
Whenever I buy something expensive, I feel guilty . Never mind if I validate it by saying that it is an early birthday gift or a fixed cost for my online business. Excuses , excuses! I strolled Glorietta Mall this afternoon just to check out the BPI Express Credit Card Madness which runs from June 7 to 18. Note, I had no intention of buying anything today. *sigh* At the Power Mac Apple Center, I caught myself staring at the 
Edit (July 8, 2006)- This ad has been changed (see 
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