Rachel is bound and determined to move out of the house next year after she graduates high school. At first I fought the idea, but am slowly coming to peace with it. We have an apartment type building in our backyard that has a bedroom and a bathroom in it (it was built as a pool house). I told her that she could live there while she went to college, but she would have to continue to follow our house rules. Well of course, that was the dumbest idea ever thought of by a human and besides our rules are already "choking her" (yes she actually told me that ... to which my response was "choking ? really? you want to see choking ... I will show you some choking sister"). So a few weeks ago, I casually mentioned to Derek that Rachel and a few of her buddies could rent one of our rent houses from us. She thinks that she is all big, bad, and grown-up then she can find some roommates and they can share all of the expenses. It would be a great transition to move from our house, just one block away, to the rent house and have to pay her own bills, while still have "mommy and daddy" close by ... just in case. Derek told me that if I told her about this idea then she wouldn't go for it ... and I agreed because, after all ... Derek and I are the two dumbest people on the planet and we don't know anything about anything.
Rachel printed out the price sheet for the dorms the other day and was griping about how expensive they are. I casually suggested that she could find a rent house in town and get a couple of roommates. Her wittle face just lit up. The heavens opened up, the angels were singing, and the sun was beaming down as her brain processed the perfect idea. "OH MY GOSH MOMMA ! Me and Sammie and Taylor could rent your rent house." I just had to smile as I told her, "Well I don't know about that .... Daddy and I will have to think about it"
Sly mama! ;) Sounds like a great starter place for her.
ReplyDeleteMy dad wanted me to live in the house and go to the local university to save money when I graduated high school, but my mother put her foot down and said "hell, no".
ReplyDeleteShe believed that I needed to get out on my own, deal with bills and meals and roommates and laundry in order to grow emotionally and intellectually.
I think you and your daughter are both right. She SHOULD go out and fight over dishes with roommates and discover what it's like to have to shop for her own groceries and stay up until three AM and face the consequences of class the next day.
I wouldn't have missed it for the world.