Who Would Have Thunk It?????

The summer before my youngest left for college I was a basket case. Everything he did or I did had a finality too it and so I would lose it regularly. Then the day came that we drove him to college and dropped him off. My husband took a black and white photo of me and my son sitting on his dorm bed, it captured the emotions of the summer. In fact the photo captured my soul so much that my mother made the comment that I looked pensively sad. I love that photo because it capture a moment and a summer all in one picture. What I learned after I got home was that life wasn't over for me because my baby went away to college, that there was an opportunity for growth. I found that I had peace I hadn't before and it came from the fact that there was something we had done right in our fumbling parenting that our son had the strength and fortitude to venture away from us.

So we are faced with our first totally empty nest Christmas. No children in town, no relatives coming to visit. When I first realized that this was going to be, the way it was....well, I wasn't sure how I would feel but I decided to let it be exactly what it was. I found a small miracle within myself. I realized that I didn't decorate the house just because I had children....I like Christmas decorations. I didn't bake cookies because the kids would love them....but because we love them. And so, Christmas is just about here and I have enjoyed the whole holiday season. I love shopping in the snow, I love baking, I love listening to Christmas music 24/7 and I love the lights. But truly the contentment of this holiday season comes in knowing my children have grown, that they are making their own traditions and they are happy....that truly is the best holiday gift.