Back-to-School is once again here and for many parents this means an empty house for most of the day. The first few days are always weird for me. It’s QUIET! So quiet in fact, that it’s LOUD! Eventually I find my groove and adjust back into my “normal” routine – whatever that means because NO two days of my life since becoming a mom on March 27, 1993 have EVER looked even remotely similar 😉
Fortunately for me, our oldest daughter attends Wesleyan in Lincoln and always has a few days home after her siblings head back to spend a little “quality time” with her mom. This is the last year we will have this luxury as she will be graduating in May and moving out on her own. Today, we enjoyed a walk at one of our favorite parks in Kearney. The morning air was perfect, just cool enough to need a lightweight jacket but not so cool that being out was uncomfortable. I could almost taste Fall in the air!
On our way home we received a text from my husband who wanted to know if he could take us to lunch, what a great way to spend a little time together before she heads back to Lincoln Thursday morning. It is such a tricky bundle of emotions parenting teenagers and adult children GULP! Did I just say, ADULT CHILDREN?!? How can I have an adult child, I am barely an adult myself! Anyway, one moment you are crying in Mass as your priest says a prayer for all the students heading to college and their parents and the next moment you are excited for the adventures that are soon to come their way. You are proud of how awesome they turned out one moment and then unsure how they can survive without you the next! UGH! What a roller coaster ride!
I chose to write today’s “Home” post on what makes our house a home…the beautiful family that fills the rooms with laughter, arguing, music, Legos, dirty socks, camaraderie and LOTS of food.
Our home does NOT resemble the cover of Better Homes and Gardens OR HGTV, we don’t eat gourmet meals, wear designer clothes or have perfectly behaved children. What our home IS filled with is LOVE! We are a team, we are loud, supportive, critical at times, prayerful, crazy, fun, loud, kind, grateful, comfortable, forgetful, wonderful and did I mention LOUD?!?
So, as you peruse Pinterest or Facebook or the magazine covers as you wait in line at the grocery store, please remember that you may desire your home to run more like a well-oiled machine and you may be a family forever, but our children will only grace our homes for a freckle of time. Relish in every last crazy, loud, chaotic, beautiful moment. Love & prayers from our family to yours.
Blessings!