Gone Too Soon

Just about 30 mins. ago, Brittany pulled out of our driveway to make the long trip back to college.  I woke up this morning  around 4:30 AM reminded that this was the day she'd be leaving.  I couldn't fall back to sleep because all of the memories we've made over the past 3 months that she's been home came flooding back. I'm so going to miss her and how much fun we've all had together.

I have been feeling pretty weepy for the past several days.  Blame it on hormones or just plain ol' momma heartache. I mean, this letting go business stinks!  Until you've walked the walk, you really can't understand how much it hurts.  Oh, you're happy for your child to be stretching their wings and learning to become more independent.  That's exactly how it's supposed to be, right?  However, keep in mind that for 20+ years, all I have ever really known is being a stay-at-home mom.  All of my wants and needs have taken second fiddle to those of my girls...and I simply wouldn't have it any other way.  Still, it does come as a kick in the teeth when your child leaves the nest.  They're home strictly as a visitor and no longer as a full-time resident.  It's so very different.  I keep thinking that in just a few short years, I'll be an "empty-nester".  What will I do with myself then?  Guess the Good Lord is the only one who knows the answer to that one. 

After I rolled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning, I put pen to paper and wrote Brittany a letter, just as I always do when she's about to leave for college.  I sat there and bawled with every word I wrote...it was bound to happen!  As she gathered up her last few belongings to take to her car, I handed her the letter.  We hugged each other tightly and stood there and cried together for a moment or two...it couldn't be avoided.  She assured me that we'd talk often on the phone and have Skype sessions, which I always look so forward to.  Bless her heart, she felt so overwhelmed by the thought of having to unpack and set up her apartment without our help for the first time.  She decided she wanted to do everything on her own and as much as I wanted to try and convince her, otherwise, it wasn't my place.  I have to let her experience life to the fullest...and that sometimes means that I'm not a part of it. 

We hugged once more, then she got in her car to leave.  We waved goodbye and I watched her drive away.  That sight is something I don't think I will ever get used to.  I completely lost it when I went back inside the house.  It's tough when you don't know when you'll see your child, again.  It's doubly hard when you know that you can't make everyone like them and you can't protect them from all the difficulties and hardships that life throws their way.  All you can really do is PRAY and turn it all over to God.

After Brittany left, I went back upstairs to make sure she hadn't left anything behind.  I went in my bedroom and found a note she'd left for me sitting on my alarm clock.  Every time she leaves, she writes a note for Chris, Abby, and me to find once she's gone.  Her words warmed my heart and will help get me through these next several months. I'm already anticipating how wonderful it will be when I get to see her, again. Sure going to miss that girl of mine!                

The Visit

Well, Brittany and "the boyfriend", Connor, arrived at our house on Thursday evening.  They came inside, grabbed a quick sandwich to eat, and we all stood in the kitchen and visited for awhile.  He was very quite..I think he was nervous. Hey, that's a good thing...I want to keep that boy on his toes!  I figured that since he's from Mississippi, he'd speak with a slow Southern drawl, but he spoke so fast, I could barely understand him!

When they got up on Friday morning, I fixed them some waffles and sausage for breakfast.  Later on, they went to Dave and Buster's for a few hours. We went out for Mexican food later that evening.  We couldn't really visit because we sat in the room with live music and it was deafening!  Lesson learned.

On Saturday, Brittany talked us into going to a local wildlife preserve.  We all had a good time...just wish the weather had been warmer!

Here's Abby feeding a sheep that was making an attempt to escape.  I can't blame him!

Chris and Brittany fed carrots to a donkey...

Who loved to show off his amazing choppers!

I laughed so hard!!!  I kept trying to convince Brittany to give him a little sugar, but she wouldn't go for it.

There were roosters everywhere...in trees, on tops of poles and buildings, etc. Watch out below!

Who could resist a herd of buffalo?

It was feeding time for the deer.

This duck was having a time splashing in the cold water!

AWW!  Just look at this bunny's pretty baby blues!

Isn't that the sweetest face ever?

This peacock loved to show off his dazzling colors!

I still have some more pictures and stories to share.  Hope you'll come back to hear the "rest of the story"!

Homeward Bound!

Well, guess who is finally on her way HOME?  Brittany is due to arrive in about an hour or so!  Do you have any idea how excited I am to see her?  She's been away from home since Jan.10th, so we're way overdue for a visit! I've been cleaning like a mad woman all day long and just pulled a batch of brownies out of the oven. She'll be bringing her boyfriend, Connor, home with her to meet us for the first time.  I probably should run out real quick and buy an industrial size can of this stuff...

Of course, I don't want to impress him too much...he might want to stick around for GOOD!

I won't be posting, again, until early next week as they'll be here through Sunday.  Gotta milk it for all it's worth, you know?  So, hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll be visiting each of you as soon as I can! Oh, and one more thing...please continue to pray for my cousin, Kelly Stamps, who is in the hospital with MRSA on her face. Talk about some scary stuff! Last I heard, she was improving, so that's encouraging news!  Just keep praying for her complete recovery.  Also, say a prayer for Connor, if you would.  Apparently, he's been having terrible acid reflux lately, so he went in this morning and had his throat scoped.  The doctor found a lot ulcers in his throat that caused enough concern to do a biospsy.  The worry is that he has throat cancer, which is a real possibilty because he dips tobacco.  This could very well be the wake-up call he's been needing.  Thank y'all so very much!  

My Girl's Turning 20!

I can hardly believe that this day has arrived!  You're no longer a teenager...you're 20 years old! In some ways, it feels like time has stood still and, in other ways, it seems like it's slipped right through my fingers.  What do you say that we take a little walk down memory lane? 

We've gone from our first snuggle session...

To you being ga-ga over Barney...

To venturing off to preschool...

To your first dance recital...

To losing your first tooth...

To competing in our first road race...

To first loves and heartbreaks...

To being an accomplished athlete...

And to setting out on your own...

Britt...what an absolute privelege it's been to have seen you through every stage of your life, so far, and I can't tell you how excited I am to see what God has in store for your future.  I know it will be a bright one as long as you continue to TRUST, BELIEVE, and have FAITH!  You know I'll be cheering you on every step of the way,  just as I always have.  Thank you for being my daughter, my friend, and one of my life's greatest blessings.  Happy, Happy Birthday!

I love and miss you so much, 

Mom

   

              

They Never Left...

Well, just wanted to inform you real quick that Brittany is STILL dealing with bed bugs in her apartment!  The first night she got back to college, she woke up with 8 bites on her arm the next morning. BLECH! Things were going alright for a few months, then here we are, again.  I am so disgusted, I can't even tell you! Every time she comes home for a visit, I make her leave everything in the garage.  Then, I, carefully, transfer her belongings, little by little, into huge Ziploc bags. I take her purse, book bag, tote bags, clothes, shoes into our laundry room and put everything in the dryer on the hottest setting possible. Then, I wash everything in HOT water and all goes back into a HOT dryer. I mean, it is no way to live.  The exterminator is going back to treat her room today, so we'll see how that goes.  I have a sinking suspicion that this will be an ongoing issue. I have gotten myself pretty worked up over this, as you can surely imagine. Lord, calm my spirit...I can sure use it!

Gone Too Soon...

I have come to the conclusion that this letting go business is for the birds!  There, I said it! If I had my way, I wouldn't have a single thing to do with it. Everything would remain completely unchanged and  that lump in my throat that keeps popping up when I least expect it would be gone for GOOD!  Unfortunately, though, LIFE just isn't that simple. You see, when your kids go away to college, they do return, but only as visitors. They don't, generally, come back to stay for long.  They have BIG DREAMS to chase after...not to mention boyfriends!  

Now, Britttany was home for one glorious month! We had the best time EVER!  Lots of late-night talks and sharing of secrets.  Oh, and who can forget the laughter because we never fail to find something to laugh about!  Well, on Tuesday night, she got into the mode of wanting to pack up her stuff.  Pretty good idea, I suppose, since she left yesterday afternoon. However, I was still in a state of denial.  Surely, she wasn't ready to leave just yet!  I mean, classes don't even start until the 17th...what's the hurry?  Oh, trust me, she was in a hurry alright!  She HAD to get back to see the boyfriend...Connor, remember?  The one who gave her Tony's Creole Seasoning for Christmas.  Oh, brother!  Well, she was in one happy mood, I tell ya! She was dancing all over her room! Me?  Not so much.

Here's what our kitchen looked like yesterday morning when she brought all of her "stuff" down to take out to her car. What fun she must have had unpacking it all!

She, of course, had to give Bella some last minute lovin'.

And Maddie had to give her one last SLURP!

Now, this is the part that gets a little tricky. All morning long, I had been doing fine.  Not a tear fell from my eyes...miracle of miracles!  Then...Chris and I walked her to her car and the flood gates opened wide.  As soon as we embraced to say our goodbyes, I was a babbling mess!  I could hardly utter a single word. What nearly did me in is when Brittany started crying.  She's never really done that before, but this time was different, for some reason.  Oh, how I hated to see her leave!

She hopped in her car, backed out of our driveway, and in a matter of a few seconds, waved goodbye and she was gone.  I couldn't have run fast enough to catch her if I'd tried...though I thought about it!

I walked back in the house...QUIET house...to find that she'd left this note for me, as she always does. I cried some serious crocodile tears, believe me!

I LOVE being a mom, but being an expert in the art of letting go...probably never going to happen.

Walkin'~N~Talkin'

Sorry I've been sort of MIA these past several days, but I've been as busy as a bee!  Brittany got home from college on Thursday and it's so great to have her home.  The three of us girls have been baking like crazy!  Then, on Saturday night, Chris and I went to a Christmas party that our friends, Beth and Kurt, hosted.  We really had a nice time visiting with everyone! Today, we drove over to Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead and did some browsing around. We saw a shirt in Neiman-Marcus...get this...that cost $1,600! Needless to say, I think we were all glad to get back to "our side of town".

Every time Brittany comes home from college, we always make it a part of our daily routine to go for a 3-4 mile walk at our local park.  We have the best time getting in some exercise, but, also, catching up on things we might have missed out on while she was away.  It's like a therapy session for us both, I think.

Here she is leading the way through the woods...

Pretty spectacular, wouldn't you agree?

We always see some kind of wildlife around...

 I really need a more powerful lens to be able to pull in tighter shots.

Deep into the woods...I love it there!

On our way out of the woods today, we spotted a large heap of these feathers laying on the ground.  I'm not sure what kind they were, but my guess is that a hawk swooped down to grab it's prey and this is all that was left behind...

  
We've been having such warm weather here in Georgia. I can't believe that Christmas Day is only 6 days away.  What I'd give for a white Christmas, but I sure wouldn't bet the farm on it!  Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

The Countdown Is On!

Well...not much longer now!  On Friday, Abby will end her 8th grade year and summer will, officially, BEGIN! I still can't believe she'll be off to HIGH SCHOOL in the fall!  We'll have to tackle that one later...when my poor heart can't handle it.

On Friday last week, they had the much anticipated "8th Grade Event" at her middle school.  In a nutshell, it was their last opportunity to act like kids before the onset of high school.  The school set up all sorts of indoor and outdoor games for the kids to play, as well as photo booths and and even a mechanical bull!  I tried talking Abby into hopping on it, but she couldn't be convinced.  It lasted from noon until 3 PM and they fed them a lunch provided by Chick Fil-A. I know it was a day all the kids will look back on with a smile.

Here's Abby wearing the t-shirt she decorated for the event.

 
Here she is with a group of her friends getting their picture made on a BIG, red inflatable chair!

I do have to share a funny story.  I had to order Abby's yearbook back in the fall.  Well, the other day, she sent me a text message from school saying, "Mom, thanks for giving me your name."  I had no clue what she was talking about.  When she got home from school that afternoon, I asked her to explain what her text meant.  She went on to tell me that when I ordered her yearbook, I put down my name instead of hers for the inscription on the front cover.  So, she's known as 'April', instead of 'Abby'.  Yep...leave it up to me!

Brittany and I have been having a good time hanging out.  She got up the other morning and felt inspired to cook herself some pancakes.  I was stunned that they turned out so well!  Let me just say that she can't boil a pot of water without burning it...if you know what I'm sayin'! 

Just look at her go!

We went for a walk at the park later on and I took this picture of a thistle.  I like how it's shows up against that pretty blue sky.

Chris' interview in Portland last week went very well and they called him before he flew home to tell him they were sending him an offer over the weekend.  He got an e-mail yesterday stating that an internal candidate had popped up on Friday and they were going to interview him today.  Chris should know something by tomorrow.  In a way, I look at it almost as a blessing because neither one of us wanted to move that far away from the South.  Once again, I think God was at work.  Chris left bright and early this morning for PA. where he has another interview.  This position wouldn't require us to move...we would just need to live near a major airport. You can't get more major than Atlanta!  Please continue to keep him in your prayers...I'll keep you posted!

Well, time to hop on the treadmill for a run!  Nothing like hearing the Backstreet Boys sing "Larger Than Life" to get me motivated! Yeah...I'm cool like that! :):)   

She's HOME!!!

Oh, happy day!  Yesterday afternoon, Brittany came home from college for the summer!  I've waited for that day to arrrive for 9 LONG months!  Of course, she brought lots of "stuff" home with her. This is what our kitchen looked like when we brought all of her belongings inside...

Kind of resembles one of those hoaders' houses, doesn't it?  I'd completely forgotten how much "stuff" she had...I dare not even mention the SHOES!  That girl would give Imelda Marcos a run for her money!  We had to carry all this mess upstairs to her bedroom, which took several back-breaking trips.  We both worked into the evening getting everything unpacked and put away. I had to find a place to store everything that she doesn't need right now, which was a challenge in itself.  By night's end, we were EXHAUSTED!

After the girls and I got our showers, we plopped down on the sofa, side-by-side, to watch "Dancing With the Stars", which I'd recorded. Chris walked by and noticed how I was looking as happy as a clam with my girls sitting beside me, just like old times.  So, he decided to snap our picture.

It's probably not one of our better pictures, but who cares?  We're finally TOGETHER, again, and as far as I'm concerned...nothing else really matters!