Empty Nest Test

Alright. It’s 2:50 pm on a Saturday. Our son is at college and our daughter is gone for the weekend with a friend and her family. For the next 48 hours or so, we have an empty nest. How do I feel? Well, frankly, this is REALLY weird.

Sure, when our kids were toddlers, I dreamed about this. I used to sit in the rocking chair at 2:50 am and imagine the days when I wouldn’t have to wake up at that hour and when I could leave the house whenever I damn-well pleased. Ahh…sweet freedom.

What’s that annoying thing that people say? Be careful what you ask for?

Like I said, it’s weird. It’s also pretty scary. Hubby and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary in December. Are we really prepared to spend the next 25 years without kids? Can anyone possibly put up with that much ME?!

Technically, we have 6 years before our nest is really empty, but this weekend almost feels like the end of college. Remember those days when you had no clue what your future held? The one thing about being a parent is that it’s so engrossing, so all-encompassing that the idea that your kids will be gone one day is simply preposterous. And yet inevitable.

It’s a good thing this is only a test. If this had been an actual empty nest, someone would have to point me in some direction. Because honestly, for the second time in my life, I’m a little lost.

When You Go

Only a moment ago we had nothing but time
Everything lasted forever and you were all mine
Only a dream I know
Thinking you'd never go
Tearing off pieces of myself
Just for the time it buys me

Fold my heart up small
Or break it into pieces
Find somewhere and keep it there
Take it when you go

“When You Go” – Jonathan Coulton

Here we are again, saying goodbye. It’s not the end of the world, but as you begin your final year of college, I find myself panicking to remember everything I should have thought about long ago.

Have I made enough of our time together? I wish I could say yes. Have I said all that a mother should say to her child? Of course not. Have I taught you everything? No, but have I taught you enough? Again, probably not.

How can I even begin to prepare you for where you will be at the end of this school year? I try and remember what my senior year was like. Truthfully, it was far more focused on on socializing than planning the rest of my life. And when graduation rolled around, I was terrified. Somehow, improbably, I landed on my feet. I think God and your Dad are totally responsible for that.

Three years ago, you left here a boy. I remember that day we dropped you off at that gigantic campus filled with nothing but strangers. You looked like were you going to your execution. But you stayed the course and, in time, found your niche, your friends and so many gifts.

Today, you’re a man. How the heck did that happen? There’s absolutely nothing in any parenting manuals to prepare you for the day that you look up at your child and realize that he is an adult.

I think you know that we’re proud of you, but you probably don’t realize that we embarrass ourselves sometimes at social events by talking about you to excess. Perhaps we’re living vicariously through you or perhaps it’s just hard to believe that we’re related to someone so talented and so humble. Either way, we feel blessed and we hope you do too.

So here’s what I really need to say: Forgive me if I hold on too tight, if I “over-mother” at a point when I should start loosening my grip. As with every other parenting challenge, I’m just making it up as I go along. It worked pretty well for the first 21 years. I’m hoping it will work for the next 21.

Shameless

You know what? Dina Lohan's got NOTHIN' on me! Watch me shamelessly promote my kid and his project!

So, here's the dealio. My son wrote a song called "I Want To Talk To You On The Internet." His friends spent this summer creating a music video for the song. It's amazing. Seriously. I really think you'll love it. Click here to see it.

That song is from his album Love Songs To My Future Girlfriend: A Music Request For A Female Companion. You can watch another music video from that album, "Be My Girlfriend," by clicking here.

Enjoy!

(Oh, and no, that's not my son in the video...in case you were wondering.)