Leaving the Nest

“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.” 
― C. JoyBell C.

After nearly 22 years of being a full-time Mama...my husband and I are Empty Nesters. Our 21 year old son lives in Utah and our 19 year old daughter just moved to Maine. And while each of them have a part of my heart...I am ready for this new chapter in my life. I am ready to explore what's in my heart...my ART... my WRITING....spending precious time with my darling husband.

Life is an Adventure...and the past 21 years have been the BEST and HARDEST years of my life. From the time my kids were born I made it my mission to be the BEST Mama...I spent nearly every single day with my children. I chose not to work outside my home but instead spent time playing with Jackson and Emma. We went to the park, rode bikes, had movie nights, days at the pool, read books, used our imaginations, sat on our porch swing playing the "car game", walked to Sonic for ice cream and Big Drinks. There were thousands of hours spent taking them to football, baseball, softball and soccer practices. Our weekends were filled with ball games rain or shine. There were Birthday parties and sleepovers and play practices.

There were also times of great sadness and frustration. Nights spent worrying when they were sick. Times I didn't know where they were and if they were safe.

Nothing can prepare you for being a Mom. Nothing. Not a book. Not a magazine article. Not a parenting class. Being a Mom is your HEART. From the moment you see your new baby and hold him or her...your Heart just SWELLS. It's like that scene in the Grinch when his heart grows "three sizes that day".

“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.” 
― Debra Ginsberg

 So here I am...watching my children Fly on their Own. It's a different kind of feeling...but I am loving it. I want nothing more for my children but for them to be HAPPY and at PEACE and DOING WHAT THEY LOVE! That is, after all, what we have been preparing them for all along.

My beautiful Prism Moon in front of her dorm in the heart of downtown Portland. I miss my girl but this is her Dream! It's what she has worked so HARD for!!!

“But kids don't stay with you if you do it right. It's the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won't be needed in the long run.” 
― Barbara Kingsolver, Pigs in Heaven