A New Normal, Part 2

Today we are celebrating #3's birthday.  He wanted to have some friends over for pizza, videos, etc.  Easy enough.
     It just feels weird to me that #2 is living out of state and won't be here (for the first time ever) to celebrate his birthday.  #1 and his wife will be "visiting" for the party.  Life is not the same!  I'm starting to feel the inevitability of the empty nest creeping up on me.
     I used to think that it would be great to have my house back.... I could finally have the whole house clean.... all at once!  But it's the QUIET that I am not liking so much.
    I have determined that I will have to keep myself busy.  I have put off lots of projects and now is the perfect time to get to them.  Here is what I am committing to getting done in the next six months:

1.  Refinishing the headboard and desk in upstairs bedroom.  I've come up with some ideas and I'm quite excited about it.

2.  Conquering the Mother of all Cluttered Rooms; my storage room.  I'm going to get rid of all the stuff I don't need or want and get things under control.

3.  Starting up my health classes again.  I have learned a lot about essential oils and green cleaning and non-toxic body care and I can't wait to share.

4.  Catching up on my scrapbooks.  Ever since I went digital, my scrapbooks have been pretty much ignored... about 10 years worth of photos to post.

5.  Filling in the holes on my family tree.  I have been putting this off for too long.  And I really hear the call that it needs to be done.

Yes, life is looking quite different these days, but there is much to be done. And when I stop and think about all the things I want to accomplish, I can get excited about all the extra time and fewer distractions that are mine.

A New Normal, Part 1

It's been a week since I dropped off my daughter at college two states away.  She's the middle child and my only girl.  The two boys attend the local university... one lives at home, the other does not.  And the house is feeling rather empty.

     I'm glad she has taken this step.  She got her A.A. at a local community college.  It was a good fit for her and she would have stayed there forever.  But it was time to taste a little independence.... time to leave the nest.  For most young adults, this is an exciting time.  She was terrified.

     My daughter was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at age three.  She is a bright, talented and intelligent girl and with the right techniques, she learned language and skills that allowed her to mainstream in kindergarten.  She did well in school in spite of extreme shyness and difficulty in connecting with her peers.  From kindergarten through communtiy college, she has taken things at her own pace and we have been proud of her success.

     As we have prepared her to leave home, I have mostly concentrated on what she would need to know to live independently.  I didn't really think about how it would affect me.  This week has been hard.  She is struggling with the newness of EVERYTHING.  And I knew she would.  And I have to let her.  I would never have left her there if I wasn't convinced that she could meet this challenge.  I know she is capable, even if she has doubts she can do this.

      Tonight we chatted via Skype.  Skype is a wonderful thing!  She smiled a lot and it seemed like she was home.  I know that all this technology will be a real blessing to her (and me!) as we adjust to a new normal.