This month has been a long year!
Yep, you read that correctly. It’s totally felt like all of August’s days have been that long for me.
Normally, I dread summer’s end when the littles go back to school, but this year, however, I was excited (yes, moms, it’s ok to feel both at the same time)!
This year marks the first time in 27 years that I haven’t had a child home or worked outside of my home when the school year began.
IT’S JUST ME!!! My days are my own (as much as they can be as a busy momtrepreneur of six).
It was also bittersweet because I sent my oldest daughter off to college.
Kindergarten…where did the time go?
Don’t get me wrong. She is amazing and I will LOVE watching her do awesome things with her life. I know she can do it, too. She earned several academic scholarships and my chest was bursting with pride at graduation. She’s a scrappy little go-getter!!
It was also a Terminator moment, where someone ripped my heart straight out of my chest and sadistically watched it while it beat (bump, bum…bump, bum…bump, bum).
THE PAIN! THE AGONY! THE MISERY!
It just so happens that her apartment move-in day was on the one-year anniversary of my beloved grandma’s passing.
Talk about a corker of a day!
Kleenex just doesn’t make tissues fast enough for days like that. The emotions that coursed through my mama heart last week were not for the weak!
Grandma meeting Adi
Once we got home, it was even worse.
Her car was parked in the driveway, the light in her room was left on, and several items she’d forgotten in her haste were scattered all over the house.
When I opened the door to shut her light off, her empty, echoing room greeted me like a Mac truck to the face.
Her scent was there, but she wasn’t.
I sat on the floor of that room and bawled for an hour while the littles and hubby peacefully slept upstairs.
At that moment, a sign my grandma had given me when my daughter was born flashed through my mind.
Quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.
There will be years for cleaning and cooking,
but children grow up while we’re not looking.
My grandma was wise beyond her 100 years. She knew the value of time…probably because she’d felt robbed by it.
I think most parents eventually do.
The up side of of moving a child to college, is that sometimes they still need you. I’ve talked to my daughter on the phone and FaceTime more this week than I probably ever have, so that’s been my saving grace.
My other saving grace was something else my grandma taught me.
Work Through It.
Whether it’s a migraine, a bad day, a fight with the hubby, or a heartache that doesn’t end–work through it. Roll up your sleeves, dig into a project, and accomplish something despite what you’re going through.
Many times this philosophy has saved me from a crisis moment.
So, this week, I’ve been crafting, baking, and cleaning, just trying to cope. The crafts you’ll see later on our website and social media, the cookies my neighbors will enjoy, and the cleaning hacks I’m passing along to you for your home.
The freebie that goes along with this blog post is a little 4×6 recipe card of the fabulous window cleaning solution that my friend, Debbie, passed along from one of her friends.
Guys…this stuff will change your life!
Not only will your windows be spotless, but you can store what you don’t use in a spray bottle and use it for little touch ups later.
Although, as quickly as children grow up, I won’t be so quick to wash away their little hand and nose prints with it in the future.
