Day Off

I apologize for this not being posted sooner. But I've been distracted. My children are no longer children. They both work, they drive, they've got friends and to quote my daughter "they've got lives." So where does that leave me?

This spring I tore up part of my backyard and created a rather large garden. Hey, my kids don't play back there anymore so why not make it useful. My daughter even helped. This has been a rather nice way to transform from the yard for all the kids to just the yard for the old fart.

But this morning with coffee in hand I realized, I miss the swing set days. The kids playing ball or hide 'n' seek. It's a tough transition from young kids, boo-boos and band-aides to who's got the beer and 18 to 20+ year old pool parties till all hours of the night.

When did this happen? I swear I didn't blink. I really tried to keep them little as long as I possibly could but it didn't work.

Not to mention, their friends have grown up too. They've gone from these awkward, lanky children with squeaky voices to adults. Geez it happened too fast.

But I am grateful for one thing...My two are close. This past Sunday, my DH invited a few of his work buddies over and their wives whom I didn't know. It was an adventure to say the least.

But during this busy, chaos, I spotted my two out by the tree swing chatting. Not sure what they were discussing, really don't care. But it was a special moment for me. One sat in the swing while the other sat in the grass and they were simply having a conversation. It was a beautiful sight. it made me realize that maybe I haven't done a bad job. It's not easy keeping brothers and sisters close.

Then on Monday, when I said I'd get this posted, I ended up spending a quite day with the two of them. Not a bad day. Burgers on the grill, great conversation, and swimming in the pool. I tried to nap on a float in the pool. They tried to drown me. Just like when they were little, drown the mama was the game of the day or a least flip her float and watch her sputter. LOL.

And best of all, they obviously believed me when I told them last week that I was no longer the maid and they had to do their own laundry because I was sick of doing it all. No kidding, they would walk through the giant ever-growing pile in the laundry room and not stop to put a load in or toss one in the dryer. So, I sat them down, explained how the machines worked and told them they were on their on. My daughter actually has been doing her own laundry. My son didn't believe me until he had to basically dig his way out of his room through the pile of dirty laundry. Yesterday, he met the washer and dryer, separated his clothes and did his laundry. I was impressed that he even listened. I consider this a small victory. It's one less thing I've got to do.

Now if I could figure out a strategy to get my husband to finish at least one of the ninety projects he has started over the years in my house then I'd truly be a happy woman.