September 29. Today marks the beginning of a series of major life changes scheduled to take place in my otherwise ordinary life. I will just begin with what is actually happening today. Emily, my youngest, is leaving the nest…again. This beautiful, free-spirited child of mine could not wait to fly out and begin her own journey when she graduated high school! Independence and Adventurer are her unofficial middle names. (D'Shea is her official middle name, about which she has never been completely happy. But that's a whole blog entry of it own.) She flew through many adventures, landing back in the nest a couple of times to regroup. The details of that journey are hers to share, but my role in that journey is that of the mother whose nest has been emptied more times than should legally be allowed.
"Empty Nest" syndrome is very real. We bring these little angels into our lives who are fully dependent upon us, only to have them morph into younger versions of ourselves (with attitude and confidence on steroids). Those mini-me's begin tugging against the reins of our influence at the exact same time their bodies and minds are developing at awkwardly warped speed. Before we can adapt to these mirror images of us we are loading their belongings into the back of a pick-up and waving good-bye as they drive off into the sunset. That leaves us, the parents, the nurturers, picking up the pieces of our hearts off the ground and trying to help each other piece them back together into something new that isn't wrapped around that human being who has been the center of our universe for the past 17-18 years. The first time this happened, when our eldest, Eric, moved away to college, I probably would have moved in with him if I could have. Of course, that would have been weird, but HEY! Desperate times call for desperate measures!
OK. I know I tend to have a flare for the dramatic, but isn't this essentially what takes place? At the end of this day, Todd and I will have experienced this phenomenon a total of 5 times…with 2 children! And though the first two times were the hardest, each time requires a period of adjustment…and a period of recovery after moving furniture! We aren't getting any younger after all! We are, however, very proud of both of our kiddos! Both are business owners, responsible, and terrific human beings! We are enjoying watching them "become".
More change is coming, too! I start a new, exciting job one week from today! And ONE MONTH FROM TODAY, I am going to do something that will forever change my life! Don't let the suspense kill ya! Stay tuned!
Now I must put on my tennies and get ready for some seriously hard work! It's moving time!
