Grocery store trip--not much except top-ups of fruit and veg since we already have too much of everything. And no Nu "treats."
Watering my plants--and no Nu to come find me for long talks about life, the universe, and everything.
Dinner time--we'll have to figure this one out. Do we still set the table when it's just me and Big A? Do we eat at the kitchen counter?
Bedtime--no hug-kiss-chat. There's still family chat, thankfully.
Pic: Max is feeling a bit extra clingy with Big these days too.
7 comments:
Thinking of you as you adjust to a new (“Nu”? :)) normal!
You are an excellent and loving mom and the current evolution of your family doesn’t take anything away from that truth!
Are there any dishes that you and Big A enjoy eating, but any didn’t like?
❤️, Steph
Sending hugs! That is such a big adjustment for all of you! I think you should still set the table for you and Big A - unless it is something you didn’t enjoy doing and you’d prefer a really relaxed dinner.
Thinking of you, friend!! Xoxo
Oh, I remember these transitions when the boys left home. For a long time, I continued cooking for four! Everything sort of gradually worked itself out. We did things in a far more relaxed way, just the two of us.
I smiled and smiled reading that you made a couple of return trips for things that Nu forgot. I'd have done the same, and would have taken along some things not even asked for. (Just in case, you know.)
It's a big transition for sure! Personally I still set the table no matter what - even when it's just me! I like to keep that ritual intact. I remember one of Jake's friend's grandma, who did the kindergarten pickup and dropoff, back in the day, and who I got quite close to - she said to me that it was so important to keep the marriage going well because one day the kids leave and there you are, the two of you looking across the table at each other. Wow did that stick with me. And although Jake is still living here, sometimes it is just the two of us looking across the table at each other. The upside is plenty of noisy sex whenever. But it takes a while to get into the transition of the new normal.
Take care.
It's a loss, in a way. Not of Nu, but of the routine of life when Nu was part of the daily scene. And losses need to be grieved, not necessarily with the depth of the forever loss, but with a sweet, sad poignance of things changing for all of you, even the dogs. Yes, set the table if you like but see the possibility of spontaneity and flexibility -- eating in the garden or at the counter or on a picnic. They always say these partings are hard for kids, homesick and all and maybe they are. But I think it's just as hard for parents.
Yep- someone once told me I'd be "crying in the grocery store" after my son left for college. I thought that was ridiculous, until I was shopping, reached for the mangoes, (Paul's favorite fruit) realized he wasn't there to eat them, and tears welled up in my eyes. Of course it gets easier, but the dinner thing is a conundrum. It will probably feel strange and empty for a while!
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