I know it’s something we say all the time, but I can tell you without a doubt that time flies because I know it was only yesterday that this happened: Wasn’t it??? And then suddenly, this past Sunday, this happened: That’s right. It’s been four whole years since I was wondering how this house would feel when our older son left for college and it was just the three of us, and now we’re already a year into being empty nesters. D’s graduation from college over the weekend (Mom brag: graduation from college with honors!) was lovely. It was a proud day for our entire family, and I watched in…
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Go West, Young Man! (Part 2)
Last weekend D left his Wisconsin home to head out west with three friends on a trip he’s been talking about for nearly a year. To sum it up, they are driving all the way across the country to visit (and camp and hike in) a couple of different national parks. This is totally different from the last time he left for the western United States; that time it was a controlled summer of working for the Boy Scouts. This time? Pretty much flying by the seat of his pants. In the wild west. It took a while for Jim and me to warm up to the idea of this…
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And, Exhale.
It’s amazing how, sometimes, things just fall into place. The last couple of months have been extremely stressful for D as he has worried about finding a job or two—any job—right out of college so he could continue living in the Wisconsin house with his friends until their lease ends on May 31. Things hit a fever pitch after Christmas because the time clock was ticking down to zero on his ability to stay in the house: we paid his rent through the end of January and he needed to either fish or cut bait. The uncertainty was troublesome, to say the least. He was applying for jobs both in…
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The Listmaker Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree
As my boys have grown, it’s been very interesting to see which personality traits they’ve inherited from Jim and me. While I have felt terrible when we’ve discovered certain that some of the less desirable characteristics have been passed down—cough, cough, procrastination, cough, cough—I have laughed a little bit at others. Here’s an example. This conversation happens several times a week in my house, year-round: Jim: “What do you have going on today?” Me: “Ugh, so much. My to do list is miles long.” This conversation happened on Tuesday: Jim: “What do you have going on today?” D: “Ugh, a lot. My to do list is six and a half…
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Something Wonderful
Something wonderful is happening around here. (Indulge me while I brag for a moment. Thank you.) Although it seems like yesterday that we were in the midst of his college search, D is finishing his coursework a semester early. He’ll be done with classes in less than a month! It’s a pretty spectacular accomplishment: he achieved it via a combination of some AP testing for college credit, testing into (and then passing) an advanced German course which earned him the credit for that class plus the year he skipped, and mostly due to his staying the course with his major and getting awesome grades (Dean’s List all the way!). Did…