School Starts When? My First Experience as an Empty Nestor.

So, you've finally just gotten used to the kids being home for the summer. Your nerves are back on track, because just two weeks ago you found the perfect summer time activities in which to get them involved. Then, you open a letter from school. It says. "Hope you had an enjoyable summer... see you in two weeks." Your mind begins to race. Thoughts start popping into your head. Dementia sets in. Two weeks, what does this letter mean two weeks? They just got out for the summer!

Is it me, or does it seem that summer vacations are getting shorter and shorter? My daughters are slightly older. One is ready to leave for her first year of college, and one will be a junior in high school. Even still the mania never changes, at least for me. It's sort of bittersweet. On the one hand you want them out of the house so that you can have one peaceful day; yes, even with teenagers. Yet, on the other hand, you begin to realize that their other life kicks in...one in which you become a shadow participant. Soon, they will be dependant upon their friends for conversation and advice. They won't have time to take a ride with you to the store, or to watch the "dumbest movie ever" on TV.

The difference for me this year, is that one daughter is beginning her new life as an adult, and the other is becoming increasingly involved in outside activities. Where has the time gone? Don't get me wrong, I understand that there comes the time when we need to let go. What I didn't realize was how quickly that time comes. I find myself saturating my eldest daughter with last minute information and advice I wasn't sure I had given. I find the need to make sure that she has remembered all the things that she had been taught by my husband and I. Even though my daughter has a great head on her shoulders, I just need to make sure for my own satisfaction and security. The point is, I will miss her terribly.

Of course my friends keep telling me that I have to let go. What they don't understand is that I have already let go. I did that when she started looking at her first college. The point is that throughout the years, I have watched my daughter grow into this beautiful young woman, and I am very proud of her; but, I miss the child with the inquisitive eyes, the contageous giggle, and the bounce that was her run.

No, to the contrary, there is nothing wrong with admitting that you will miss your child. Motherhood, for me, has been a most enjoyable experience. At the same time, however, I am also overjoyed that she will now begin her own special journey of life, and I only hope that she experiences great joys and blessings along the way. She deserves it.

Besides, I still have one more to cling too, right?:o)