What's the very next thing a good and concerned parent does right after submitting applications for the preschool wait list? Why, planning empty-nest vacations in the Caribbean, of course! Seriously, when you gaze out into the nebulous Land of the Future, don't you see it paved with a convertible that will eventually replace that minivan? And theater tickets, and days when you no longer have to change diapers/make school lunches/wipe noses/wipe butts? Because the kids are all off on their own?
You may have to wait for your dreams to come true, if this new study is to be believed. Apparently "young adults" are now postponing moves that would have been rote 30 years ago, and they're staying in school longer, leaving home later, getting "real jobs" later, s ell as marrying and having kids later.
Which all adds up to one thing, really: your kids are going to be on your dime much, much longer than you anticipated.
Welcome to hell.
And I'm really, really sorry about the convertible. And the Caribbean vacation.
