Last week, I mentioned that Kathy made 150 breakfast burritos for Andan's farewell party. Since his flight to Mexico didn't departed until early Tuesday morning, we got to spend one last day with him on Monday.

Since I won't see him for two years, I took the day off work. And, since it was our last hoorah, Andan and I did some fun things together which mostly involved throwing the football.

My sister, Kim Capozzoli, came over to help Kathy pack Andan's suitcases.

My niece, Brinlee, came over to give Andan a real missionary haircut.

And, for Andan's last homecooked meal, he asked his Momma to make Chicken Dorito. Yum! It's a family favorite.

Andan asked Kathy to make Andes Mint Cookies for dessert. Double Yum!!

Then, we loaded up and went to The Grid to ride these super fast go carts that go 45 to 50 miles per hour! Kathy and I sat this one out and held our two grandbabies so the others could race...which suited us just fine.

The kids had a BLAST!

Andan came in 1st place! And, his two buddies came in 2nd and 3rd.

Andan held his precious niece and tried to soak up as much of her as he could before he leaves for two years.

And, he held his nephew too. By the time he gets back, those two will be so much bigger and older!

My brother came over to say goodbye to Andan. Everyone was at our house having such a fun time and we're all going to miss Andan so much that nobody wanted to go. So, they stayed the night!

Brennah fell asleep on the floor in the family room. Her roommate, Britt (who is secretly in love with Andan), fell asleep on the couch. The rest of the kids found a spare bedroom and sacked out for the night.

The next morning, we woke up at 5:45 am to take Andan to the airport. Everyone hugged Andan said "goodbye" when we left the home. Then, Brennah & Britt and Kathy & I went to the airport to see Andan off.

Needless to say, saying "goodbye" to Andan was one of the saddest moments of my life. Oh gosh...I'm gonna miss that boy so much!!!

Brennah and Britt didn't want to let him go! They were just being silly...probably to mock Kathy & me. Haha.

Kathy and I are now empty nesters. We're so sad!! As we left the airport without our youngest son, we tried to put on a brave face...but it wasn't easy. We're really feeling it.

As we pulled into the garage when we got home, I saw five motorcycles and wondered to myself "why do I have five dirt bikes? I don't even have any kids at home anymore!

I walked in and picked up the house a bit after the huge gathering and sleep over. As I took the blankets and pillows from the family room to the theater room in the basement, I wondered why we even have a theater room. Kathy and I are the only ones home now and we'll never watch a movie in the theater room! As you can imagine, that made me cry...again.

Then, I walked past the game room and wondered why we even have a game room. Kathy and I are never going to go down there to play pool or air hockey or ping pong or foosball. That thought made me sad again.

That's pretty much how the rest of the day went. I was a weepy baby all day long. Our whole lives have revolved around our children. Parenting them is what has given our lives purpose and meaning. Without kids at home, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. What good am I anymore? What am I even doing here?

Kathy was feeling the same way. She tried to console herself with 'retail therapy.' That is to say, she went shopping to try to cheer herself up. But, when she got home and walked in, hands loaded with shopping bags, she said...

..."I still don't feel better." 😂

What does it all mean? What's the take away? Two things:

First, it was a good run. We did the best we could with those kids. And, as you could probably tell, delicious food and family meal time was a big part of the equation for us. When we say on the DVO About Page that our goal is to "bring families closer, one delicious recipe at a time" we really mean it.

Second, I gained a new perspective. As we think about and celebrate the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter Sunday, it's worth considering and being grateful to Heavenly Father as well. As Andan left home to serve this mission and as I considered the loneliness that I felt with his departure, I realized that Heavenly Father must have felt a similar loneliness when Jesus left heaven to come to earth to serve His mission. This is something I've never considered before until now. So, this Easter, I feel an increased sense of gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and I'm especially grateful to our Heavenly Father for sending him on this mission as well.

Finally, if you have any empty nester tips for Kathy & me, please share below because we're feeling really lonely and sad. My next newsletter article will likely say "the trash man was late picking up our garbage cans today and it really, really annoyed us." 😂

    Dan Oaks
    Founder of DVO Enterprises
    Creator of Cook'n
    Father of 5. Husband of 1.
    Monthly Newsletter Contributor since 2024
    Email the author! dan@dvo.com