You know that feeling when you’ve just had the most delicious slice of your grandma’s chocolate fudge cake and you really want to have another piece but you don’t think you should because, well, gluttony is the first deadly sin?
To me, that’s what an empty nest feels like. My years as an active mom were rich and delicious. I loved them all –
- bedtime stories I read with little people tucked in around me, and the carefully enunciated words they read back to me;
- the weekday morning frenzy of lost library books and mismatched socks “Can you sign this permission slip?” “I need milk money” “You are not wearing that that thing to school!” and the neighborhood kids who stood in our front hallway every morning, waiting to walk to school and enjoying the show;
- choir concerts that made me cry;
- sweetly awkward Homecoming corsage exchanges;
- Friday night football games;
- Saturday morning pancakes.
When the last of my four children headed off to college, I wondered how I’d fill my days. I thought I’d rattle around empty rooms all sad and lonely.
But, I’m not.
Turns out, the next slice of life tastes just as good. In fact, I sometimes feel a little guilty that I’m having so much fun.
On this side of the hill, you realize the gift of moments and the finiteness of life. So, you seize your days and celebrate with laughter, with kitchen dances and shower songs.You raise a glass to sunsets and explore forks in the road. You stretch yourself toward a finish line you hope is far away. Just in case, though, you love a little more freely, think a little harder, brave kindness whenever your can and try your best to leave a big, beautiful planet even better than you found it.
That’s the goal here.
Life’s a pretty tasty apple pie here in my little corner of the world. Let’s all have Another Slice.
P.S. Just a note that the new url is https://anotherslice.life and I hope to see you all back here again. In fact, bring a friend or two and we’ll have a party.
Many thanks to Ethan Cook at http://www.halfacrehouse,com for the design work on the new blog and for the slick logos.