Countdown

In just a few short days, for the first time in many years, this house will be “child-free”. Both children are now grown, the oldest has been in college for three years now and the youngest leaves for college life in exactly one week. We live our lives with the children and their needs in mind and one day they are off to live their own lives. Odd. It goes from a full house one day to the lack of kids the next.

It never took me very long to adjust to the pitter patter of little girls’ feet…at all hours of the night and day. I love having their company, their input on my writing and my interests. It has most definitely been influential on my choices in life having the kids around….I have been blessed with children who were not only my offspring but my friends as well. They no longer are tiny…both are grown…but we still are blessed to count each other as best friends in a number of ways.

Late night talks and refrigerator raids have been something we’ve shared for years. So it is with pride and a heavy heart that I know in one week both of my kids will be living elsewhere. They have been wonderful, encouraging me to write more with my newfound free time…and they want me to let go of being a full-time mommy and develop a life centered more around my own interests. While I do look forward to a real “grownup” life I would be lying if I said I look forward to the peace and quiet of having my girls off at college. I am going to miss them terribly but I am so proud of them for beginning their own grownup lives.

They will always come back home, now and again. I’ll never lose them totally. But it does take some getting used to….

I get the feeling life for me..at least for a while..will be a bit different. I can focus on myself, something I haven’t done for a very long time. I can focus on my writing, without stopping to let them access youTube or download whatever it is they MUST have. I can maybe keep the house a bit cleaner (note I say maybe).

To my daughters, have a wonderful year filled with promise and begin building your lives, your futures. I am always here and will always have a room for you should you need it. Enjoy your education and make friends with all those other mothers’ and fathers’ kids who are also moving into dorms, apartments and new lives. We’ve begun a new chapter in our lives.

As you spread your wings and take flight, I promise to exercise my wings…and explore new things as well. We still have lots to share in the years ahead.

And remember I, as are most parents in my shoes this year, am just a text or a call or a visit away,

KW