I made it!

No breakdowns, freakouts or plain old crying jags.  I believe I have survived the first 2 1/2 weeks of being a single empty-nester.

I am sure this has much to do with the prayers of my small group, friends and family ~ thank you!

I have decided not to replace the TV I gave to my daughter and her husband.  I am so enjoying the reading I have been doing.  I know with the cooler weather and shorter days, I will begin with some crafting, too.

Fall is moving ever closer and that means school starting, small group getting back together, winterizing the home and snuggling in for the winter months.

I am so blessed by the Lord and I hope to share the blessings with others!

Aftermath

Whew, the whirl~wind has come to an end. I am officially a single empty-nester. My daughter is now a “Mrs.” It was an exciting ride and I don’t think I am ‘normal’ yet. I have a feeling that will set in over the weekend.

I am so thankful for all of the family and friends that joined my daughter and her husband for the ceremony and reception. A celebration of a journey being started – a blessing of family and friends to share it with.

In other news, I have planted some of my native, low-watering plants in the front yard. I have solar lights along the walkway, too. It is coming along nicely. I will be planting the groundcover in the spring. I am also hoping to build raised garden beds this fall in my side yard.

I am blessed with a wonderful network of family and friends to help me through this transition of being a mom with a child at home to a mom with a married child.

Thank you everyone!!

Wedding

Thirty-two days until the Wedding! Many items have been accomplished and a few are still pending.


I know the bride and groom are excited and looking forward to the culmination of all of the planning, organizing, calling, meetings and doling out money.

My daughter finished summer school and is working full-time through the end of August with a 5 day break for the wedding. My future son-in-law is working three jobs which keeps him pretty busy; however, he will also be taking a 5 day break for the wedding :-)

They rented an apartment in mid-May and he is living there ~ being a bachelor for a few months. We did move most of my daughter’s belongs into the apartment so that it wouldn’t be such a shock when they got married. She has her daily necessities and is at the apartment enough that she can pick up what she needs.

Each day brings closer the realization that I may not have daily contact with my daughter anymore. I go through the highs and lows of a parent whose only child is getting married and moving out. Mostly happiness and excitement for the newlyweds, a bit of sadness for myself (not trying to sound selfish). I am also curious to see what this new leg of the journey holds for me :-)

This is my third spring at my little house.  The first year was seeing what we had, the second year we decided to remove our front lawn in an eco-friendly way and this year I need to weed our front yard as it is a dirt patch with lots and lots of weeds.  The goal is to put in a walk-way and some native, low-watering plants.  LOL - I still haven't gotten the hang of yardwork :-(  It's great when it is done; it is the doing that is rough (kind of like housework!)...  I still have my daughter at home through the middle of August, so I need to get busy as she will help me get things going  :-)

Otherwise, life is status quo around here :-)

Here I Am

Goodness, where does the time go!  I have had a second "dry run" with my daughter doing a 15 day house sitting job.  I think I will survive her getting married and being a single empty nester  :-)

The MS Walk is tomorrow and I will be there with my tennis shoes on :-)  What a great cause to help fundraise for ~ the best part is that the money raised stays in the local area.

Wedding plans are moving forward.  I think she has everything figured out; just needs to have a bit of time to finish stuff up, YAY!

Spring is here and so is the yard work and landscaping that we didn't do last year  :-(  Since I still have my daughter living here this summer, I am going to make sure I get all I can done with my helper...

Dry Run



A practice run at being a single empty nester… My daughter is house-sitting this week and I am doing a “dry run” for later this year. I have at least one other practice run before the real thing.


So far it has been okay. I am trying a new routine in the evenings which, of course, will probably not work when she gets back ~ LOL. I’m actually sleeping very well through the night [was a tad worried about that].

I’m even trying not to text my daughter all the time, although I may have difficulty with that when she is actually married and not living at home.

I am glad that I have a couple of hobbies, a small group/bible study and a yard/garden to keep me occupied after she has flown the coop.

January 2012

¡Hola! Thought I would drop a note in the blog :-)

A new year with new things already happening!!

My daughter got engaged on her birthday, what a gift for a 21 year old. I am so very excited for her and her fiancé! Of course, this means that I will soon be a single empty-nester which makes this exciting event a little bitter-sweet. However, her excitement is contagious and we are having fun ;-)

Other news of the day, I did it – I bought a Vitamix! I have been contemplating this for a couple of years now and took the leap. This morning was my first use and I made fruit smoothies for my daughter and I. Yummy!!

Tax return is completed and filed ~ probably the last year I will get money back since I was able to claim my daughter as a dependent since she is a full-time student living with me. Nice to have that done for the year; just in time for a little home improvement this spring AND the start of a wedding fund for this summer’s event.