by Karen | Jun 24, 2023 | All, Blog, Chip, empty nest, Kids!, Stories
An empty nest. An adjective describing a noun and, at the same time, a mother’s state of mind. I have been watching a mother bird painstakingly build a nest, nurse the eggs, and sacrifice everything else to ensure its safety until maturity. I found one egg on the...
by Karen | May 20, 2021 | Being Italian, Blog, empty nest, Future, Life Lessons, Stories, Working Out
As we move through our lives, we pass through a series of hellos and goodbyes. We come and go throughout the day, not thinking about the joy of a new hello or the sometimes finality of a sad goodbye. As I prepare for our move from the home where we raised our children...
by Karen | Mar 13, 2021 | Blog, Chip, empty nest, Kids!, Life Lessons, Married Life, Quarantine
When I was first married, I could not understand why couples struggled in their relationship in later years. The kids are gone, hopefully on to successful lives, and retirement is looming. You have made it through the hard part. The challenges of raising kids while...
by Karen | Sep 6, 2019 | Blog, empty nest, Kids!, Stories
No. Not when it comes to your children. It has been 19 days, 5 hours, and 39 minutes (at the time of this post) since we left Jack in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for his sophomore year at the University of Alabama. You would think this time would have been easier, but it...
by Karen | May 14, 2019 | All, Blog, empty nest, Kids!, Life Lessons, Stories
Amelia, I could start this out with so many thoughts and sayings about graduation such as, “We are so proud.,” or “Congratulations,” but that’s not you is it? No, it is not. My words of wisdom and joy to you are “You are no longer driving the struggle bus!” You are...
by Karen | Apr 11, 2019 | Blog, empty nest, Kids!, Stories
From the time of this posting, in the days, hours, minutes, and seconds listed above, I will have one college graduate and one college sophomore. How did this happen and where are the little versions of them? I believe they are still there. When the phone rings,...