Empty Nest

This past weekend I helped my youngest son Mike get settled in to his new apartment in Atlanta.  He just finished grad school in May with a Master's of Science in Computer Science and is starting his first "real job."  My mission was to help him get his apartment a bit  "home like" so that he would at least have a comfortable place of retreat when not working.

I have many mixed feelings - I am proud of what he has accomplished and happy for him to be starting his own life, but am going to miss having him around.  Oh, he has been away at school at USC in Columbia, SC for the past several years, but this is only about 1 1/2 hours away from where we live.  So we would see him on a very regular basis.  Atlanta on the other hand is about 4 hours away - not so far we can't visit there or him come home - but it just won't be as frequently as in the past.

But we had a great weekend putting his apartment together.  A trip to Ikea for a computer desk and side table, several hours putting together the Ikea furniture, hanging curtains and a few pictures, and numerous trips to the nearby Home Depot for incidentals to complete all these projects.

In the end though, my mission was accomplished.  His apartment looks very nice and although it is in the heart of Midtown Atlanta seems safe and secure enough.  Here is a pic of the den with the small side table from Ikea we assembled, an overhead clock we bought at Lowe's, along with sofa and coffee table he inherited from his older brother.

And here is a photo of the Ikea desk we assembled - perfectly fits into the corner of his bedroom.  

And here is a picture of the curtains we hung in his bedroom - they were a nightmare to hang.  Unbeknownst to us, the wall had a combination of concrete and steel behind it - required several trips to Home Depot!

And here is a great picture of Midtown Atlanta's skyline taken from his rooftop.

The rooftop has a great area for relaxing - there are several tennis courts, basketball courts, a gazebo, hot tub, and an enclosed gym surrounded by windows.  Should have taken pics of that as well, but didn't.

Anyway,  after all is said and done, with the internet and technology today, the world is indeed a smaller place.  I "visited" with him last night on Skype and it was almost as if he was here.  Perhaps the anticipation of his leaving was more difficult than the actual event.  And after all a child's leaving "the nest" is just another of life's many milestones.