The oldest one is moving out — and this time it feels final

For the last couple of months, a dining room table has been squatting over the coffee table in our living room, like one animal threatening another. It’s not in the way exactly, but it’s still a strangely oppressive use of space. Anyway, in a few days it will be gone.

The oldest one is leaving home for the third time – or the fourth, if you count going to university, which I do, because I cried that time, my vision blurring as I tried to punch my registration number into a car park ticket machine. This time seems more permanent – he’s moving in with his girlfriend, and they have purchased, among other things, a dining room table.

Boxes keep getting delivered but never opened, because they’re not staying. Some of them contain new pots and pans, others plates and bowls. One of them, I think, is an air fryer. Suddenly, in conjunction with the oldest one’s imminent departure, a lot of stalled stuff is getting under way.

moving out, leaving home, moving in, girlfriend, dining table, air fryer, packing boxes, university, kitchenware, family home