It was a few weeks ago when my mom first started hinting at it.

She’d say things like, “So, Giles, where are you going to sleep when you move back home?” Or “Are you going to live with me or your dad?”

I guess I’d been naive about the weak job market. But, until then, I honestly hadn’t thought I’d be moving back home after graduation.

Now, I’m not so sure.

So I asked economics professor Khan Mohabbat: With the economy in recession, will more students be moving in with their parents after graduation?

“It is indeed a very difficult time for all – parents and students alike,” he said. “If graduating students cannot find jobs or summer work, there is no doubt that most will go back home and stay with their parents.”

Well, I’ve applied for 15 to 20 jobs. A few were even nice enough to send a letter to reject me.

So I called my mom.

“Do you really think I’ll be moving back home?” I asked.

“Yeah, ha ha,” my mom, Vicki, said.

But why?

“Because you don’t have any money. You don’t have a job.”

True and true.

But during our conversation my mom reminded me that some students aren’t as lucky as me.

“I think a lot of parents might be foreclosing on their homes, or the parents might be losing their [own] jobs,” she said.

OK. She got me with the sentiment. Who will I live with then? (My mom has a two-bedroom apartment with my sister.)

“Probably dad’s because he’s got a spare room. Because I don’t know where you’ll stay here.

The couch?” She then gets distracted by our cat and dog. “Max is funny. He’s walking real low to the ground. Now Lucy’s going after him. … You’d move in with dad. We’ll have to cross that

bridge when we come to it.”

My mom’s short attention span on that day reminded me of one of the pluses of living at home: I’d always be able to see our cute-as-can-be pets. Not to mention I’d get free meals, cable, Internet, heat, air conditioning, electricity, water and rent. But, on the other hand, I could see myself getting comfortable with all those free amenities, leading to complacency. And then there’s the lack of freedom, being in my mid-20s and still living at home.

Next, I called Xiaolin Xie, coordinator of family and child studies.

“Will I make my parents crazy?” I asked.

Xie laughed. “Yeah you will.” She laughed again.

But setting ground rules ahead of time will help keep us all sane, she said. Before our call ended, Xie informed me that, on average, men live at home longer than women, who are generally more independent. Then she laughed again.

OK. Say I do move back home. I’ll only be there a short time. Right?

Maybe not. Forty percent of last year’s college graduates still live with their parents, according to a survey by the Web site Monster.

Regardless, I think it’s time to step up that job search. I have until Aug. 14, the last day of my lease. Wish me luck.