The Night Before Christmas...

-

When our kids are little, it's all about getting them to sleep as every sound 'could' be Santa or his reindeer on the roof. It's pleading for a bit of shut-eye to get those last-minute gifts wrapped - the ones that were not under the tree the night before. 

Each year, that Christmas magic wanes a bit as kids mature. You enter certain phases where they've outgrown toys and you struggle with what to get for them. You ask for lists, but half the time relatives don't understand what your kid has even listed. It's almost more work explaining what an Ocarina of Time is and why it's important than it is to just order it yourself and slap a "from Nana" label on it.

The Christmas you never see coming is the one right before they leave home. The one where it's the last year before college and they've matured into this adult - this person who you always knew they'd be but just couldn't fathom it.

It hit me today. With this being my kid's senior year - this is his last Christmas as a resident in our house. Will he be home next Christmas? Yes, but he'll be traveling home for it. He'll be coming home, anxious to leave to get back to his life. I remember being that age. I came home, but I was an entirely new person with experiences that had shaped me into an independent adult - ready to leave when the break was over.

So, this Christmas - I made the guys decorate the tree with me because, for the last couple of years, my son has been too busy with his friends or homework. This year, I didn't take no for an answer. It'll be the last year he will be here to help me. And my heart is breaking just a bit...

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. Cherish every moment.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mother's Day Surprise

-
Image
I got this for Mother's Day along with a big three-ring binder of photos and artwork that my son has compiled all through PRE-K. It was the most touching gift he's given to date, in his five years. Even though his PRE-K teacher orchestrated taking all the pics through the school year and organizing all his artwork, it was still all my son's favorite pieces and shots. I loved it. I love that he thinks I'm fourteen feet tall, which he says it's all leg by the way. He even drew me that way. I love that he remembers my age and my favorite color. I love that he still loves my kisses. I hope he never outgrows that, but I know he will. After giving it to me, he told me he loved my hair put up but thought it would be prettier with more ponytails. He ran and grabbed more colorful rubber bands and asked me to put them on in the places he pointed to. "I want a pink one ... there. I want the blue one ... there." He looked at me when I'd finished a...
Read more

a startling lesson

-
Okay, so I got a sex ed lesson this week from my almost 5-year-old. I know at this age kids are extremely interested in their bodies and the differences in them and the opposite sex. I think with boys...they are from birth to the grave....but I digress. He called me into the bathroom and said, "hey mom....um you know my hump?" (He calls his nads his hump, and I've never told him any other term) I nodded my head. He asked, "do you know it's a bucket of skin that holds my pee?" I raised my eyebrows and said, "No, I didn't know that." Okay...at this point I'm not going to correct him. I'm just gonna let him figure some stuff out on his own until "THE" talk comes at a later date. He got excited and kept going, " And you know what? " "What?" "When I'm older...I'll have hair on it too!" I almost fell to the floor at this one! "Ooooh really? Where did you hear that?" ...
Read more

Facing Redemption

-
The sequel to Finding Kylie is called Facing Redemption. I'm twelve chapters in and am so ready to finish. When writing Finding Kylie, I would dream of different scenes or character traits and wake up, knowing what direction I needed to head with my next chapter. So far with this book, I've not dreamt as much at night but can't stop daydreaming. I need to pull my head out of the clouds and focus on my own life a little more. Lately, it seems all I eat, drink, and sometimes sleep is this sequel. I think mostly because every time I turn around I've been getting emails, phone calls, and questions from readers of 'Finding Kylie' wanting to know 'when the next book will be out.' It's exciting to know they've fallen in love with my characters so much that they're chomping at the bit to have closure on some of the things I've left open-ended with the first book. It means I'm making a difference with my writing. I've impacted ...
Read more