driving down that road again

I didn't plan to be away from my blog for quite so long. It's been a week..eesh. I foresee my blog getting the back burner in the weeks to come, I'm afraid. I'm a bit sad about that because I so enjoy coming here to visit with all of you. As you know I'll be doing the Felt Club on July 15th and would you like to know just how much I've made in prep for that? 20 pincushions. And they are not even all finished. That's it. I can't even believe it. I'm so behind. But not because I've been a couch potato. The list of other things going on is long. It has all been good stuff, and I knew when I applied for Felt Club that I was taking on a lot, knowing how busy my summer was looking already.

Coming up at the end of the week we will be celebrating my second son's graduation with a ceremony and party at our home. This is our second graduate from our home school. Yet again I'm going through the bitter-sweet emotions of realizing that another child has grown up. I don't like this part of being a parent. I don't like letting go. 

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not a controlling mom hanging on to the ankles of my kids begging them to just stay home for the rest of their lives. Not at all. Mark and I stand on the edge of our nest, watching with pride and support as our adult children fly off to start their own lives. And then when they're not looking, we shed our tears.

For so long we were a family with babies, then with babies and young children, then all young children but always together. And then one of them was grown. And now a second one is. We aren't always together. It's a new season for us as we watch what was the picture of our family change and take new shape. It's an adjustment, a shifting that comes with some heartache, that of letting go.

Before this becomes a real downer of a post, let me say that there is so very much to celebrate, to reflect on with joy, to simply just smile big about--in seeing your children become adults. By God's grace Mark and I have poured our lives into our kids and one by one we are reaping the fruit of a job well done. Did we do things perfectly? Not even. So many mistakes along the way. But our heart was right, and we always tried to make sure our kids new that. That we loved them more then anything. That they were our life.

I certainly didn't expect to get into all this when I sat down to write. My thoughts just took a turn down that road I guess and I decided to keep driving. The blue sky above is a view from my patio. I had a quiet moment to do one of my very favorite things in the midst of all the business and emotions of the past weeks, and that was to just sit and stare at that gorgeous sky---and to take a photo of my feet. If you have been reading here for a while, you know I have a special fondness for feet. Too bad I leave ratty nail polish on them for waaaaay too long.

Thank you for listening to me share my heart today. xo.

 

Comments

[Felicia]

Its wonderful to have a blog to release some of those worries that we usually keep bottled up inside. Don't worry about being behind with your sewing. Inspiration will hit you one day soon and you'll whip up tons of groovy treasures for your booth!

[Mama Urchin]

I think you always share your heart. It's something I like about you.

[Tamara]

Glad to see your back. You have been busy. I think we all know just how you feel about your son - excited to see him fly but sad they he is leaving the nest. That is just how I felt when my youngest baby walked last month. Another milestone gone. Hope the next few weeks goes well. Enjoy the good busyness.

[capello]

i already have issues with my boys being 3 and 5, it's going to break my heart when they're grown.

[Amber]

Oh, I understand all too much... though my eldest child just "graduated" from elementary school. It's all bittersweet, this growing up---at once, sad and proud at the same time... No one ever said being a parent was easy, I guess.

[India]

I know how it feels - although I Was very careful never to hand onto my son - an added danger as I was a single mum - I still cried for about a nmonth when he left to go to university. But it's a great feeling knowing we've hleped them on their way, isn't it?
India

[amandajean]

I can't imagine the bittersweet emotions going on in your home right now. I don't like letting go either.

hugs to you, toni. :)

[strikkelise]

Congratulations to your big boy, and to mum and dad, too!
(I shriek at the thought of my children taking the bus by themselves)

[Tracy]

So good to see you back! And you've been busy--those pin cushions are FAB! But not to worry you'll make all your need to for the Felt Club...And you do your best each & every day. That's all any of us can do, for our selves, for the kids...Be proud in all you have done, and raised some pretty amazing kids who are, one by one, meeting the world with all the wonderful values you instill in them. Think about all the goodness they will give to the world! Lucky world...The great thing about a blog is you can bring to it what you need to, and know that there will be someone listening. ((HUGS))

[Jude]

They really do grow up too quickly. We were visiting a new baby today and I looked from her to my 16 year old daughter - who looks like a grown up - and it's so hard to believe.
Gorgeous little fat pin-cushions!

[jen b]

This post is why i read your blog. you write what you feel. here is a virtual kleenex to wipe your tears (when your graduate is not looking of course)

[Suzie Sews]

You word everything so well, a truley lovely post
Suzie Sews

[Rebecca F.]

Hi T.

Wonderful, wonderful post.

And your pincushions look like something you could pick up and eat! Yummy.

Good luck with the sewing.

[Natalea]

Such a sweet post! Thanks for sharing- xo Natalea

[Katherine]

Thank you for this heartfelt post. We are a homeschooling family and I so hear what you're saying. My sons are fast approaching the time when they'll leave the nest and as much as I want them prepared to go on their own, part of me struggles with letting them go. It's hard to comprehend how quickly life passes and I'm trying to embrace each moment. (Without becoming a "smother-mother")
Congrats to your son and to you & your hubby as well. Much goes into parenting and homeschooling, but as you know, the rewards far outweigh the effort.

[Pattie]

I too am on the brink of having my first homeschooled son leave. I've been luckly to have him here under he is 22, but the time has come for his new life, in his own place, to begin. I'm so proud of who he has become, but I just wish our time here together, just the six of us, had seemed to last a bit longer. I don't know how this will feel when the other three leave the nest....I suppose just as rough.

[Chara Michele]

What a wonderful post... Isn't it great to be able to write about all the little things (and big things) we think about. Congratulations to your son for his graduation (and to you for teaching him and helping him get to this point:)!

Good luck with all the busyness that you have going on!

[Mhairi]

Twenty gorgeous pincushions! they look like tiny cushion seats!
Remember, if you only make half of what you intended, just charge double! (Can you tell I'm from Scotland, lol)
My youngest starts Nursery after the summer, but I think I'll be the one crying into my cornflakes that morning.
Congratulations your sons graduation, to see a child grown up to adulthood, must cause some bittersweet emotions. Well done to both of you.

[Molly]

I read your post this morning before work and thought about it all day. I had to come back tonight and let you know you really spoke for me too. My youngest son is going to be a senior next year and I can't believe I'm going to soon be a different kind of mother. I'm OK with it but wondering what it will bring ....

[JoAnna]

You almost brought tears to my eyes! After a great bedtime, filled with stories and chatting, I left my little boy's room tonight wondering what life was even like before conversations about freckles and dust bunnies! And then I stumbled upon this! I am sure letting them take flight is so bittersweet. I am not at all ready for that yet.
Love the pin cushions!

[tamara]

Oh, my heart goes out to you in reading this post, I can't imagine how difficult it is to let them go after investing so much into them. Not that it is our choice nor would we even want to hold them back, but why do the years pass by so quickly? I applaud you for home schooling them all the way through. May you reap all the benefits of a home filled with love & warm memories.

May you also get loads of crafts done for your fair.

[Julia]

I can really identify with the subject of this post. My youngest just graduated from high school and will be leaving for college in a couple of months, leaving my husband and me in a home without kids for the first time in over 25 years. Needless to say, the ache is very strong and the sadness is heavy sometimes, even though this is what we all work toward -- raising our children to independence. I'm sure the next few months will be interesting as we figure out this next stage of life.

[melanie]

You have such a beautiful family and sound like such a wonderful Mum - it is only natural that their leaving is bittersweet. Thanks for sharing.

[tiel]

thank you for sharing. i have been thinking of late about my children growing too quickly and all that comes with it.

love our pin cushions. Are they available online anywhere?

[Nicole]

I L-O-V-E your pin cushions. Did you make your own pattern or get the pattern from a book. Let me know. Thanks.