On Saturday,
September 1st we moved Aaron into his apartment at UMD. It’s only about a half-hour from our house,
and he came home on Sunday to tell us about his first night “on campus” and to
wash his car – he’s pretty anal about his Mercedes.
Aaron has three roommates, a couple
of whom like to party, which isn’t really Aaron’s style. One of them wants Aaron to teach him how to play
guitar – I suspect they’ll find friendship through that. None of the boys knows
how to cook except Aaron. Well, they can pour
milk into cereal and make mac-and-cheese or toast a pop tart, but that’s not exactly
“cooking.” I think that will prove
to be interesting!
So Aaron is gone, officially, and our
lives are forever changed. We were both
tremendously sad to see him go, and especially what it means; life as we’ve known it
for 18 years is done. We are extremely
excited for him, though, and what his future holds. This
“empty nest” is new and difficult – the first day after he left the tears
flowed quite easily, and I found myself just bouncing around the shop and yard and the
garage and barns trying to find misplaced stuff that never quite got back to where it
belonged. Now, of course, we wait for him to
call or stop by. I am again reminded of how
much it means when your kids call, or just stop by.
But change is
good.
Mary has interviewed for a position
in Duluth that she is interested in. We
suspect that there’s a good possibility that she’ll get hired - and that will be very different. We have been here together, every day, for nearly
20 years, and working side-by-side (literally) in the business for 6 or 7 years. It will be good for her to be able to do her own
thing instead of helping me with mine. Besides,
she says I’m making her crazy. So now
maybe I can slow down a bit with the business and find time for the many projects
I’ve been wanting to tackle over the years.
I wish my father were alive. He was always so proud of all of his grandkids. He constantly worried about what they were
doing, how they were doing, and all that. And,
of course, he was pleased that his two sons were so close – much like he and his twin
brother were. He, too, was eager for his kids
to call or stop by.
And so I wait for Corey,
or Jeff, or LeeAnn or Jodi – and now Aaron – to call or stop by. Perhaps what they say is true: the more things change, the more they stay the
same.
Mary & David Hallsten
The Hallsten Family - 2006
