As you all know, our handsome son has already moved
out and is getting married in May. Our beautiful daughter is getting married in
July, and moving to Virginia. My mood fluctuates from being very
excited about this new phase of life, for them and for my husband and me, and feeling like I've been hit
with that big orange water cooler full of ice they show on football
games. Our son still lives in our town, so while it is an adjustment,
it will be much easier. Our daughter, well, I miss her already. Not gonna lie, the thought of her living so far away is just plain SAD.
The easy days of kissing the boo boos and sitting in the stands and
helping with homework are over. Now comes the hard part. The
decisions my children make now are life-altering, my advice even more
important, my prayers even more fervent. Hardest thing in the world is
accepting the reality that we don't have control in our children's lives
anymore. We never really had control anyway, but we fooled ourselves
into thinking we did. Now, that reality hits me like a cold shower. My
children are adults. They don't need me like they did before, and yet,
they need me now more than ever, just in a different way.
I so want God
to use me to bring glory to Him. I want to transition with
grace and step into my new role with a smile on my face. Some moms
never make the transition and spend the rest of their lives mourning the
growing up of their children. Lord Jesus, please don't let that be me.
I want to be there for my children, and I always will be. But I also
know that this is now a chance for my husband and I to focus on our
relationship in a fresh way, and I truly look forward to that!!
Please agree with me in prayer for God to show me specifically what He wants from me in this new phase of my life. I want to serve Him. I want to glorify Him. I want to be His hands and feet.
And if you have any words of wisdom from your experience in transitioning, please share!
I will definitely pray for you. It is a weird transition-to go from being the "all-in-all" to your family to being "that's my mom"...lol. I have been through it -with a household of four kids. it takes some adjusting and some time to find your way and figure out who you are when you are no longer 'mom'. You will do fine. I know you will miss your daughter. It looks like our daughter will be moving even further from us in the future...right now it is only about 2 hours..and going to about 8 or 9. Hard-hard-hard-all over again. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteI will lift you up, too. Been there...done that. I wish we could sit and visit over Diet Cokes. God will continue to bless your family in new and exciting ways.
ReplyDeleteThe proverbial empty nest had its moments for me but I love having grown happily married children. We are in close touch, can't imagine before the internet...that would be sad
ReplyDeleteIn the first few months after my son got married, it was very hard. Just a trip to the grocery store would make me cry! I would see chips or some other thing he used to ask for and I would get emotional just thinking about how I didn't need to buy that anymore. It took a good two months before I wasn't crying on a weekly basis.
ReplyDeleteThe best advice I can give, is to have honest talks with your kids about how much they want to communicate. It's really their time to shine and be independent and you want to allow them that fun and that growing. They will call you and they will want to see you, more than you realize, but they want it to be on their terms.
And, yes, I think it's so smart to want a healthy transition. Kids need healthy parents, not ones that are crying or clinging, every time they call home. God had to show me that :)
I certainly agree to some points that you have discussed on this post. I appreciate that you have shared some reliable tips on this review.
ReplyDeleteHugs~ my sweet friend. You need to take some time off after the summer just for you. I know God will carry you through the hard days. One of my high school friends just married off her last child. She just found out she is expecting. 50 and expecting. Thought that might cheer you up!
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