• Randy Charach, 62, has four daughters, ages 19 to 34. • They had all flown the nest by the start of 2025, but then slowly started coming back. • Now two daughters and one boyfriend remain at home, with another daily visiting boyfriend.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Randy Charach, a dad from Vancouver, British Columbia. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I like to say my wife and I were empty nesters for a minute this year. In the end, we had the house to ourselves for just six months.

We were enjoying being empty nesters — and hadn't anticipated that changing so dramatically. We knew some of our daughters would temporarily move back home when they needed to. We hadn't bargained on them all coming back and bringing their boyfriends with them.

All of

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