35 Years Ago

Thanks to the wonderful internet, a friend of mine from college days found me and we've gotten reacquainted. We were in a girls' singing group together and we decided to try to find some other members of the group. We've started a Facebook group called Symphonettes Reunited.

Can you figure out which one is me?

An Empty Nest Post

This is an Empty Nest post. That's because it is the musings of a mother whose children are getting married.

Apologies in advance if this post annoys anyone.

My last couple blogs here (and in my other blog) have been about the neighbor boy getting married. He and his siblings are close and long-time friends of my kids, and so it does almost feel like one of my own got married. He and his new wife flew off to the east coast early this morning to start their own nest, unpacking wedding gifts and turning a single's home into a couple's home.

What do these actions bring to the mom? (Well, to me at least, the surrogate mom, and likely to the real mom as well?) It brings relief. It also brings happiness, but somehow I'd describe it more as relief.

That may sound silly, but somehow there is this feeling inside of me that

1. our kids are not really grown up until they are married
   
2. our kids now have someone besides me to care for them, to make sure they are ok
3. now I'm no longer responsible for that child's well-being, someone else is.

I know, there are plenty of mature, self-sufficient, single, happy 20-somethings out there who probably think I'm really stupid for feeling this way. Sorry. I don't mean to dis you in any way. Nevertheless, that's how I feel.