Guys, have you ever noticed how women complain that their work is never done, yet when they take a day off, or a weekend off, they're more productive than worker bees. It has to be genetic. A couple of days ago, the last of our children moved out. He's 18, full of piss and vinegar, and ready to conquer the world. So, here it is, two days later, and if you took a look at our home, you'd never know a teenager used to live here.

My wife is still walking around a bit bleary-eyed (though for my sake, she's been choking back tears), yet on a day when she should be resting from the stresses of recent events, she chooses to attack Jon's old room with a vengeance... straightening up what little remains of his belongings, and washing the grafitti off his walls (we're not talking grafitti like you see in the movies - still, intelligible writing on the wall qualifies as grafitti in my book). If this were a hotel, his room would be suitable for the next occupant.

Jon will be returning within a day or two to remove his remaining belongings. On the one hand, we've made it clear he can return if he doesn't make it on his own. On the other, his room has been completely cleaned out. If it were me returning to that room, I would be getting mixed messages.

I'm expecting to hear back from the VW dealer tomorrow. I've decided that I can't afford to negotiate a higher price for the vehicle, and I think the changes they agreed to in the contract don't allow them to back away. I won't be obnoxious, but will make it clear that I intend them to follow through with their deal. Reading the contract, there is no mention of engine size... only the model I ordered. So, unless VW has discontinued the VR6, it is technically incorrect for the dealer to say that they've stopped production of the model. When customers go to the showroom to pick up literature, there's always small print indicating that features are subject to change. So, in this particular case, they've decided to add a feature that wasn't there before. Great, that's my gain.