He's home. And, apparently, in need of a new toothbrush.

For the past several days, this house has been uncommonly quiet.  And neat.

Man-Child was on his Senior Class trip during his Spring Break this year.  They went to Disney.  Without me.

At the beginning of the school year, when the paperwork came home, he claimed he didn't want to go.  He said that we shouldn't waste the money.  Because he doesn't "do" rides.

We told him in no uncertain terms that he WAS going and he WOULD have a great time.  We informed him that this was a trip that he'd remember for the rest of his life.  We reminded him that this would be his "last hurrah" with the majority of his classmates - as they are all headed off in different directions after graduation.

And so he went.  And by the time they were ready to go, he was actually looking forward to it.  

I'm sure that this trip is part of the school's evil plan of weaning us from our children.  Up till now, Man-Child has never been that far away from either one of us for that much time.  It was hard to get used to the quiet that pervaded the house.  Even when he is upstairs, asleep and quiet, the house just seems to be FILLED with his "there-ness".

Somehow, we got through the days.  Both of us thinking quietly to ourselves, "Wow.  THIS is what it's going to be like come fall.  I'm not ready for it."  We both ended up voicing our thoughts before the week was out.  And both admitting that we aren't looking forward to it. 

When the weary boy returned home this morning he was met with great joy.

Upon questioning, he did have a great time and is eagerly looking forward to going back some day.   He obviously didn't miss us nearly as much as we missed him as he only called us ONCE the whole time he was gone.  Oh sure, I got a few texts - but only because I initiated them; otherwise, I don't know that we would have heard from him.

There was at least one "rough spot" (as he called it) in the trip.  Right after they arrived, they were handed their passes and meal tickets.  Man-Child set his on his breakfast tray and began to eat his breakfast.  When he was done, he gathered up his tray and promptly threw everything away.  Yes, you read that right - he threw away EVERYTHING.

But, since Disney is always prepared for anything - no matter how inexplicable - (he claimed they looked like napkins) they were able to remedy the situation pretty quickly, although he did take a lot of kidding about that for the remainder of the trip. 

We also learned that the kids were pretty much on their own the entire time; only having to check in with the chaperones in the morning and at night. Granted, they were confined to the resort but still.  Just another means of weaning our children from us, I'm sure.  Giving the kids a taste of the freedom that they will be enjoying in another few months.

He informed us in no uncertain terms, that going to Florida really made him appreciate North Carolina all the more.  He called it a flat and desolate place.  He had no words of wonder for the city of Orlando.  Now, before any Floridians get offended, keep in mind that all he really saw of Florida (outside the Magic Kingdom) was seen from inside a tour bus while making their way to the home of The Mouse.  (Obviously, he has forgotten that he absolutely loved Daytona when we visited a few years ago).

He then told me that he needed a new toothbrush.  Because, according to him, the water was so vile that it surely contaminated it (at this I had to laugh, because I know that he's been pretty much exclusively brought up on well water and not city water and that there IS a difference in taste).

And with that final piece of information, we've pretty much concluded that he will never hold a job as a tourism spokesman for the great State of Florida.

We've also determined that he will never be a great photographer either.  As I was unwilling to trust him with my camera (and after the passes/meal tickets incident I think I called that one correctly), we sent him with a disposable one.  Apparently, we should have sent him with more than one - but to be honest, I really didn't think he'd take ANY pictures.  But he did.  And he has his mother's knack of taking pictures in the wrong light, from the wrong angle, etc as quite a few turned out to just be shadowy figures.  He also told me that he took lots of pictures after the film ran out.  

*sigh*  He IS his mother's child.