Our oldest son, Kenneth, moved into his own apartment over the summer, closer to both his work and college classes in Omaha. Emily and Anna went off to their respective campuses, at Iowa State and University of Nebraska-Linclon. Last week, the littles headed back to elementary school. Thomas is in kindergarten this year, which is all day in our district.
That leaves me with a strangely empty and quiet house.
Wow, people exclaim, you must really be enjoying all of that free time and peace and quiet now that all your kids are in school! Whatever are you going to do with yourself all day? You must be so thrilled!
Um... not so much. The above photo suggests what I think might be a good way for me to fill up my empty hours.
I guess what some people don't get is that I don't have a lot of kids because I like them to be somewhere else. I have a lot of kids because I love them and I like to have them around me. My identity is very tied up with being a stay at home mom to many, and to be honest, I'm kind of at loose ends here. My need to nurture small things is huge... now might be a good time for the animal fairy to drop a needy puppy or kitten in my front yard. Hey, it's happened before.
I'm very happy to see the school bus each afternoon. I'm so happy my nest is still full after four p.m. each day. I don't know what I'll do when the littles go off to college.
2 comments:
You'll find purposeful ways to fill it and you. I have no doubt
Paula, you can come over and have some tea and sympathy anytime. I'm enjoying my new role as a stay-at-home mom, and I confess, I'm getting a lot done with D at school. But...it does get quiet.
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