Rosie the Riveter Has Moved Back Home from College

IF I HAD A HAMMER (The Hammer Song)
words and music by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger

If I had a hammer
I’d hammer in the morning
I’d hammer in the evening
All over this land
I’d hammer out danger
I’d hammer out a warning
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Just when DH and I thought we were “almost” Empty Nesters, Rosie the Riveter moved back home from college.

You see, we ‘launched’ the oldest DD, the Empress ~college grad, married, homeowner, mom of ‘Lil Moomette and Slugger, my newest no-name-picked-out-yet-until-they-have-to-put-one-on-the-birth-certificate grandson, due in August. She spends so much time here, sometimes I think she only just sleeps at her own home.

Now, DD # 2, the Empress Wannabe, is on her 4th college. The one who couldn’t wait to go out-of-state to college, packed it all in at Christmas the end of the Freshman first semester, 3 years ago. It was too cold up North. She came home, and I immediately said you’re not skipping a semester, so we sent her for one semester to a Community College to cool her heels until she got accepted at a State school. OK, so I guess I was saving money that way.

Wannabe got accepted to DD #1′s Alma Mater (where we told her to apply to begin with, but noooo, that would have been forcing her to do everything her older sister did.) So she spent 2-1/2 years there.

Fast forward to the end of this Spring semester. Just as we thought the end was in sight for May 2009, Wannabe started making noises about moving back home. (The BF moved home from going to school in Rhode Island, to go local.) At first she said she’d commute the 40 miles each way at $4.39 per gallon. All the while, making noises about applying to Grad School.

Mail started coming to the house from colleges that we thought were Grad Schools. One weekend, Wannabe ripped open a letter, and waiving it in my face, announced – “I got accepted to State Local Yocal ~ 15 minutes away ~ to finish up!”

WTH?

Just tell me what school to write the check out to.

So in came half of a school apartment, which is now in my basement.

Then, while I was on the computer in the wee hours of the morning, Wannabe came downstairs and asked where the hammer was. I thought she was going to hang pictures. The noises upstairs told me differently ~ she ripped up the wall-to-wall carpeting in her bedroom to ‘redecorate’ and was in the process of pulling out nails from the hardwood flooring.

I know, this post is getting long, but bear with me. So Wannabe, now known as “Rosie the Riveter” has her room above our cold garage. I said if you freeze your buns off this winter, don’t blame me.

Then came the announcement of Watermelon Pink paint, instead of the gracious wallpaper that’s up there now. (We live in This Old House…don’t get on my case about the wallpaper, I know, everyone has paint now, but this is New England, it’s the ambiance, ya know?) Martha Stewart would probably freak if she walked in.

My question to Rosie was – how the heck much longer do you think you’re going to live here?

“Well, I have one more year of school; then Grad School; then I have to save enough money to get an apartment….maybe 4 more years?”

One of my favorite columnists is Sue Reimer, who writes for the Baltimore Sun. I often feel we have so much in common. If you aren’t familiar with Sue, she’s a mom and a breath of fresh air. After reading one of her recent posts here, I’m not holding my breath to launch this kiddo anytime soon.

Since Rosie’s so good with a hammer, maybe I can get her to build me the deck I always wanted.

Stay tuned for more ranting & raving postings…no retirement nor empty nesting in sight for this Baby Boomer for awhile. Geez.