Empty, empty nest...

I have wonderful daughters. They're smart, funny, articulate, successful, beautiful...and gone :-). Well, almost. Francie is in and out, but she's moving to Birmingham in a couple of months to start the next phase of her life. We went yesterday to look for an apartment. She, Heidi, Joel, and I had lunch first. And it suddenly - or maybe not so suddenly - occurred to me that these two grown women are my children. And they're living their own lives and while I'm certainly a part of their lives, I'm not the center of their universes. Wait. Slow down here. So, after almost 26 years of intense parenting - you're cutting my hours?  What will I do with those hours? Francie pointed out that they were gone before now - they both were at Alabama and they weren't here then. But college seems a little temporary, and although I knew LOGICALLY they would never be back here with me, EMOTIONALLY I lied to myself :-).

So, I find myself in charge of a lot of extra hours. With nothing to do. Nobody needs me. The house is quiet. It's Sunday morning. I have the whole day to myself. Since Memorial Day is tomorrow, I have two whole days to myself.  Wow.

I'm not feeling sorry for myself. Nope. I did a great job of raising my daughters. They are off doing what grown daughters do - living their lives. Good for them.

Now it's time I get out of my comfort zone. Make new friends. Renew old friendships. Find a purpose other than work.

Yep, as Bob Dylan said, "the times they are a-changing." Transitions. Change = Excitement (before 10:00 p.m.), new faces, new adventures.

Repeat after me: Change is good. I believe that!