cynthia moved out

I went through the empty-nest syndrome for a while when Porscha first moved out, Cynthia went to Austria for 5 months and Nicole moved back to Europe. It was difficult and lonely for me. The two saving graces seemed to be that Tom (our cat) was still home and Cynthia would eventually move back. Cynthia came back from Austria with a suitcase full of souvenirs, stories and a bit more confidence. She finished high school and is in her second year at WCC - a local community college. Last year, she bemoaned the fact that she was missing out of the full college experience - dorms, friends around all the time, more independence, and so on. It didn't surprise me when she announced that she wanted to move in with a group of friends for this school year. She quit her job at the library, works in Arborland, has borrowed my car to get there and to school and back. She, also, has the cat to keep her company. Good for her.
I am happy for her and, I think, I am handling empty nesting better. Well, except for the sinking feeling that this time it is permanent. It's an vacuous ache in the pit of my stomach, the crawling nerves that trickle up and down my arms and legs when I can't sleep at night. It's the too close tears that try to reveal themselves when friends and neighbors ask me how I'm doing with both kids away.
Children are a joy... no doubt about it. The time goes fast indeed. But all the old adages don't prepare parents for the inevitable emptiness that is left when they move out. Some people tell me they couldn't wait for their kids to leave, more room in the house, less messy, teenagers are a pain... And, it's true that there are benefits to them moving out. I have more time to work on my art, less laundry to do, less dishes to wash but, boy, I miss Cynthia! Don't get me wrong as I miss Porscha as well, but the loss of Cynthia's presence in our house is new, fresh and an open hurt... and she took the cat!