The children are gone and it is just us grown-ups. Both girls are off working at a camp 45 minutes from here. We dropped off Day this afternoon. (We dropped off Kat last weekend.) We dropped them off and then what did we do? We turned into teenagers again.

First, we went to the drive-in�not the drive-in movie but the drive-in diner/ice cream place. How do you celebrate having no children? Some people do it with a beer. Some drink to it with wine (even if it is box o'wine.) We decided on root beer floats.

Then, of course, there was dinner. I could have made all the favorites that the kids don't like. I could have made something sophisticated. FogieKnight could have grilled veggies and tofu. But we didn't. We went out to dinner�but not at a very adult place. We went to dinner at the local movie theater that serves pizza or sandwiches with the movie.

Obviously, we also went to the movies. Did we see "Da Vinci Code?" No. Did we see anything adult? No. Instead, we indulged our taste in cartoons. We could have seen "Cars" but figured it would be around for a while so we chose to see "Over the Hedge." While it kept my attention, it was pretty lame. Oh, well. After a glass of zinfandel (because I am a very, very cheap drunk), I did not care much. Wine and a bad movie definitely are superior to whine and a bad movie.

So, there you have it. We want the kids out of the house. Why? Well, it is just want you supposed when you were a kid. We want the kids out of the house so we can behave like kids again�except this time I get to drink the wine.

|