I wonder. I wonder what I’ll talk, think, and write about when it’s all said and done.
When all the planning is complete. When all the vows have been said.
When all the wedding décor disappears from its current abode in my dining room.
When all the gifts have been re-boxed, packed up, and stacked into a moving truck headed for their new location.
When the basket of towels and sheets waiting to be laundered revert back to small loads. When the table is set for dinner for two, not three.
When three bedrooms are tidy and I can walk unhindered through my basement void of oldest daughter’s furniture and boxes.
When hubby and I drift into that steady routine consisting of work, cooking dinner together, and quiet evenings in our country home with the cat dozing on one of our laps.
When we passively shuffle along dulled by the monotony of everyday life like travelers seated on a passenger train, heads tilted back with eyes closed, just riding…gliding…lulled by the steady rhythm, jostled a little back and forth as the train clickety-clacks along the journey tracks and we endure the ride.
Will that be what it’s like? When I wander through the house, empty-nested again. And I wonder when the misty blanket of empty nest fog will try to envelop my thoughts and emotions once more.
Fall, my favorite season of all, will be ending and the dark night of winter will descend upon us. Color will vanish for months and be replaced by hues of browns, blacks, and grays.
The trees will bare their limbs, the grass will fade to brown, and the flowers will all commence their winter night slumber. The sky will grow dim and gloominess will usurp fall’s colorful power and reign while the sun plays hide and seek and the days grow shorter and darker.
And I will have to fight the dreariness, the lack of sunshine, and that empty nest feeling all over again.
I usually enjoy winter with its lacy snowfall and its icy curtains. I love the distinct changes of seasons, so I generally welcome winter’s arrival when Jack Frost nips at my nose and Suzy Snowflake dances through the air.
But I’m not sure this year about winter. I’m not sure that the season’s artic air isn’t going to knock the wind right out of me and lay me flat.
When ol’ man winter wraps his icy fingers around my home, I think I will struggle to shake his frosty grip from my state of mind.
As I grab wooly blankets and sweaters to keep me warm, I might also need to grasp spring-like reflections to break free from the chain of those empty nest moments of sadness, especially because none of our newlyweds will live in the same state as Mama and Papa. Our times spent together as a family will be less often and holidays will be shared with their other families.
It’s a cycle that must be lived. A reality of life that must be forged through as the parents of newly married young adults. And for me, it will prove a triple whammy when all three of the weddings are completed next month.
Just as the bushy-tailed squirrel gathers sustenance with his acorn stash for winter survival, I will gather my to-do lists, make plans to keep busy, and remember to give thanks for the stockpile of golden happy memories we made this year – the year of the weddings.
I will stack them in heaps of joy, hoarded in the hideaway of my heart to produce them when the empty nest sadness threatens to encase me.
I will be grateful in the upcoming days of opportunity, even though they may be tinged with bitter-sweetness. Because it is a choice to embrace joy amid the sorrow, to welcome the sun light through the clouds, to feel love’s warmth in the shroud of fogginess.
In the face of winter’s gloom, I will choose joy.
And I will pray. For blessings for my children – all six of them now. For renewed vigor and purpose for hubby and me.
And I believe I will pray for spring to come early.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3: 1-9
©2012 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
You will write Mama, write all kinds of things, humorous, poetic, inspiring. Lots of writing to take your mind off of the gathering mental dust bunnies.
I sure hope you’re right! (or write?) LOL
What a season of joy and wedding planning you’ve been in this year, my friend. I will pray for you a season of winter ahead that allows those sweet memories to percolate to the top and warm you from the inside out… God is faithful, and He will give you eyes to see the beauty of each passing season (even if it’s in the smallest snowflakes and rare glimpses of sunshine & blue skies between storms and gloom). Blessings on you & your hubby <3
My dear sweet Gwen, you always have just the right words to say. Thank you for the blessings! I always treasure your prayers and sweet friendship. ♥ you!!
Oh, mama. Out of three unions of this I can probably assure you, … then there will be grandchildren!
Oh happy day, Georgette! Definitely something to look forward to on that train journey of life!!
And I will glean lots of good grand-parenting tips from you, my friend.
I love the saying “The year of the weddings”!!! I think that is what we should call it from here on out.
Love ya mama!
Done, my darling daughter! From henceforth, I do decree that the year 2012 shall be dubbed “The Year of the Weddings!” Maybe we should use that on our Christmas card this year?? I love you, oh married one — wait — oh, one of the married two!
♥
Aw…. what a poignant post….. I hope the winter will find you full of projects to keep you busy. No doubt you will have “empty” moments- that’s to be expected, but I hope they’re short-lived. We’re here for you – we’ll read your posts whether they’re funny or sad, and if you need it, we’ll try to cheer you!
I’m already experiencing those ‘empty’ moments and the last wedding isn’t even over yet! But I will be (and already am) grateful for my blogging friends like you. And I know you all will cheer me up! Thank you, Dianna.
Like welcoming the seasons, you will wrap yourself in memories and begin to make new ones with the changes in each family of the six. Watching them grow and chase their own dreams, you will glow in your feelings of accomplishment and it will not matter if it is spring or winter. The cloak of love will sustain you, and they all will come back to the nest and go again from the nest, leaving you with peace and joy. It’s not over yet.
Beautiful words, Dor. From someone like you who as ‘been there, done that’ I really appreciate your words of wisdom. Thank you! ♥
We have loved hearing about your year of weddings and can only imagine how let down you must feel now that this stage is over. But like the fact that parenthood never ends, family life always brings excitement even if packaged differently. Best wishes!
Not done yet! Still one more wedding to go. Oh yes, as parenthood goes on so does family life — there will just be different chapters.