Empty Nest Handgagging

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US. My wife Deb worked her usual magic with the turkey and all the other good Thanksgiving food. And this long holiday weekend is a time for us to relax with family.

Our kids are both home from college for the weekend, and I must confess that Deb and I are having to revert to our old habit of double checking and triple checking before we launch into any handgag hijinx. You know, is the coast clear? Kids around? Is it just the two of us alone, before Deb clamps her large smooth strong hand tight over my mouth?

This fall Deb and I have been adjusting to being empty nesters, with our youngest going away to college. It's been hard on Deb, and it's been harder on me. Though this fall, for the first time in living memory, we've been lapsing into handgagging at will around the house, any old time the urge arises. I mean, nobody around the house but the two of us. Now this Thanksgiving weekend it's good to have the kids home for the holiday, but we do have to watch ourselves so that we don't get caught in flagrante handgaggo.