I'm happy that my children are now old enough to buckle their seat belts and use the bathroom on their own, but time alone is still something I crave, and I often feel envious of my empty nester parents. That said, my parents recently took the kids for a week (marking the first night I've ever spent in my home without children) and the quiet was almost eerie! Long days, short years, right? My oldest is now 9 and I know the second half of her childhood will go by much more quickly... Thanks for this perspective from the "other side!"