Empty Nesting – Again

Daughter moved away from home on Sunday and although she’d already done that once when she left for university, this time the move felt more final.

She works in TV, so she’s never home, and often has been staying away for weeks filming here and there. A couple of years ago, she went travelling for three months so I should be used to her absences.

But now, with all her things gone, there seems to be a new quietness to the place. As if her shoes and coats in the hall, or her washing hanging out on the balcony, or the make-up strewn across her bedroom, gave the flat a silent presence.

Even the Englishman agrees that the place seems more quiet – and he’s not usually one to go along with my airy fairy emotional notions.

I remember years ago, my mother-in-law said, ‘It’s so quite when they go,’ talking about my husband leaving home at the age of 18, when he joined the Navy. I didn’t understand what she meant then, but boy, do I know exactly what she was speaking about now.

A few years ago when Son left for university, it was as if a sledgehammer hit me in the guts. And again when Daughter left for her gap year in Finland. Now after several departures, the feeling is less violent.

Just as well in the same week as the last of my babies left home, I gave birth to another one. 😉

If you didn’t already know, today is Publication Day -10 for The Finnish Girl, my new prequel novella to the Nordic military romance, The Englishman.

You can pre-order now to have the book delivered to your Kindle on 15th April.

Onwards and upwards …