The once lively house has become quiet as the kids have established homes of their own. But it’s not over yet — one child remains. And that brings unique challenges, opportunities, and pleasures for child and parents alike.
For more than three decades the Schiffmillers of Oceanside New York had children at home. But a few years ago with the four older ones married and their fifth away at school Shaindy the youngest was the only one left.
“ ‘What’s it like with the old people?’ we would tease her” Mrs. Helene Schiffmiller says.
The Schiffmiller nest had been emptying for a while already. The two oldest girls who went to Israel after high school and ended up staying there would come home in the summers to visit. “I just keep rotating my children” Mrs. Schiffmiller remembers joking with her friends. “As some come back from Israel others go to camp.”
But that eventually stopped as the ones who left the house got married and began building homes of their own. After thirty years with a houseful of children everyone but Shaindy was gone.
Create a free account to keep reading.
