Table for Two!

It turns out that the dreaded meal planning DOES get a bit easier, once the kids move out! Or at least that's how it's been so far in my case. 

Cooking for 2 means mostly that I'm only cooking once or twice a week. The rest of the time we kind-of "scrounge around," but manage to come up with enough for a meal. Like, if I have half a box of fried fish sticks in the freezer (don't judge), and always have tortillas, I can whip up a quick jalepeno tartar sauce and serve fish tacos. It's a meal! But I didn't really plan it! I can't think of other examples. Leftovers, of course, are an option. Last night I made a new "entree" (chicken thighs) but we had a lot of leftover rice and green beans from the weekend, which we ate a 2nd and final time.  

I've reverted back to simpler things like a side of flavored rice from a packet (Knorr or Lipton or whoever makes those nowadays), and a steamed vegetable from the freezer. I guess my kids didn't love those types of meals so I felt like I had to do something more interesting, but Shawn actually likes them - we both do. Maybe it's nostalgia. 

Over the weekend we grilled some shrimp and it was so good! Just marinated it in lemon juice/zest, olive oil, S&P, and red pepper flakes. Shrimp were on sale, both of us like shrimp, so I bought 'em on a whim. (Nothing to do with meals for 2, just one of the good meals we had recently.)

I did make the mistake once of boiling a whole box of pasta -- habit -- and then had pasta in the fridge forever before I threw it out. Learned to NOT do that! haha. 

We're trying not to go out to dinner too much (college girls are expensive!), although it's hard to resist. Still, even if we do, it's half the cost of what it was when we had teenagers' meals on the bill!

We haven't had cereal for supper yet, but it's on the list of possibilities. 

Can I Still Do This?

It has been a long time, dear Diary. 

There's no good way to catch you up on everything from the past year+, but I've come to another milestone and feel like I need to nod to it in some way. This past Sunday, we dropped off (baby) Kate at college. 

I know, right? Momentous. We are now officially empty-nesters, because the week prior, our college-grad Alex packed up his car, and his girlfriend's car, and a moving Pod on a truck, and drove west for 3 days straight, landing them in California where he will start a job -- in his field, no less -- on August 17.

I just feel like it deserves a full stop.

Just... in a week's time, they're both gone. 

The whole summer in preparation for these things has felt big and ominous -- you might say stressful (!) -- and yet, here I am, on a Wednesday, on my laptop as usual at the kitchen table. The anticipation was worse, I guess, than the actual things. (Not to discount the special misery that was moving Kate in: A 95-degree day in Georgia, a 2:45pm move-in time, the absolute PEAK of the day's temperature and not a cloud in sight, struggling to heft alllll of her stuff up the significant hill to the dorm entrance... Not a lot of fun.) 

But it's a whole different chapter, isn't it? I'm trying to be gentle about it, and to keep acknowledging it, and giving us, in my mind, the credit we do deserve for the work we did to get here. I suppose this whole blog acknowledges that work. It's hard to believe the "kids" phase is really done. They're not kids! I mean, sure, Kate is 18 and still needs us -- even I need my own parents, still! -- but you know what I mean. Kids at home. 

I haven't been super sad or lonely yet, although it is odd to lock the front door and leave it that way, with no one coming through it, or parking in the driveway, anytime soon. I have enjoyed the extra time to myself on the weekday mornings -- have managed to do a 10- or 20-minute workout all three mornings so far, in fact, and I'm grateful to have that time back! And I think Shawn and I will figure out our "new life" pretty quickly, which I look forward to.  

Of course, they'll be back; Kate particularly, on her school breaks, though we know we won't see as much of her as we did of Alex during his college years. She's so social (going through sorority rush right now, in fact) and if her first time being independent is anything like mine was, she will be happy and busy and may have to be reminded to go home for Thanksgiving, honestly! 

But as I sit here watching the bluebirds (my favorites!) come to my bird bath to cool off, I'm anticipating this fall as a very cozy me-season. Time to think, and maybe write, and find other things I love doing. I'm optimistic. (A little bewildered. But optimistic.)

List of Lessons During my 50th Year: Things I Want To Remember.

I just celebrated my 51st birthday last Wednesday. And I started this post in January, at the 6-month mark. I kept waiting for that feeling I always read about to kick in -- the one where as a woman, you're supposed to cease caring at a certain age, about what people think of you. You do what you want. You wear the red hat, or whatever it is. Say what's on your mind. That kind of transformative attitude hasn't hit me yet in exactly that way, but I have learned a lot this year, and wanted to keep notes about it.

All my lessons from this year: 

1. Skip all the New Year's goals. (Maybe skip goals in general, if they stress you out?) Just be open, curious, and mindful. 

2. Lay down the burden of hating your job. You know what? Most people don't like them (jobs). They're just a means to an end, and there's no need to take them so seriously. Yeah, you spend a lot of time doing your job, but it's just something to do. It's just a framework for interacting with PEOPLE. Make it about the people. 

3. Care LESS. You can get by with "C" work, you don't have make "As" in your job. (In my case, no one is paying that much attention - not paying you enough to strive for As.) You don't need a life coach, or a career that makes your heart sing. You can go to work, do fine at the dumb tasks, collect your paycheck, full stop. THEN live your life.

4. Find meaning in the other things. Your vocation -- wife and mom. Your community. Or some activity that YOU find meaningful. Even if it's just watering your flowers/lawn... reading good books. Get your joy from those things.

5. Go outside. Get some exercise. Drink water.

6. Life is truly a little absurd. All the dramas, ridiculous rules and conventions, politics, the nonsense of it... just roll your eyes and remember: absurdity. Besides that, life's a blip. Eternity will be better, and longer. (The longest!)

7. You probably shouldn't have ice cream every night.

8. An interior life -- prayer, meditation, breath -- is necessary. You need it, you need to make time for it, for your mental AND physical health. Yes. Also: you can access the Divine if you make the time to sit still/go deep, as a practice. This has been known since ancient times. (Learned this on a podcast!)

9. Our goal in life is to grow up and become Love. (Heard this on a podcast, too, with a "Higher Consciousness" physicist (a what now?) - and it was eye-opening and weird and a little too much, but also I loved it. Both of the podcasts were Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, incidentally; she isn't afraid to get deep!)

10. The little wishes/desires that you have are put in your heart for a reason. They're a calling. Don't ignore them. (I'm still trying to learn and act on this.)

11. Remember Who You Are. Go back to your childhood/teenager-hood and rediscover what you loved then. I have had a lot of happy memories this year, listening to all my old music (Squeeze, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Cutting Crew, French faves like Alain Souchon, musicals! (Aspects of Love! Godspell! Les Mis! Into the Woods!), Richard Marx, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith). Those songs, the ones you know all the words to without even thinking, are part of your being. 

12. Know what you like. I keep trying to define myself, in my mind. I'm a person who likes to sit outside. I like to study religions/beliefs, and that includes the weirdest ones. I like well-written sitcoms. I like to bake and cook for my family (most of the time). I like historical fiction. I like to plant my little plants and blow on them and hope. There's more to this one but I think you all know.

13. YOU (ME) -- your unique perspective and gifts, packaged up with your own weirdnesses and quirks, are exactly needed in exactly the place you find yourself right now. You don't know why. But that is truth. So just be yourself, do it the way you would do it. Questions, insecurities, and all. Your question may actually help someone else - you don't know.

14. There are many people who will be meaningful in your life, that you haven't even met yet. 

15. God is right here. 

Oh, gosh, there are more, I'm sure of it, but I can't put them all down or there'll be nothing left to learn and be inspired by. I'm grateful for being a 51-year-old, and all the people who've gotten me here. xo

February 2025: 20 Years Blogging!

It feels like a milestone which deserves mention: My blog is 20 years old this month. How the time does fly! Appropriately, I got lost in my archives last week. There was a lot of hard, a lot of angst and complaining -- I definitely did not remember Alex being such a source of frustration at age 4 -- but what I really saw in those memories was that it was a sweet time, a happy life with little kids and work and building a home and a family. Another surprise was to read just how much I LOVED my job, when I first started it! Ha! Thanks, God, for that reminder... I wish it were still true!

Of course reading all of the sweet comments made me miss the blog-world of back then, as we all do. So much support! So many readers! I don't want to dwell on that point, because it's been done, but wow, was it different. Yet another way social media ruined everything.

How are you, friend? Today, here's how I am:

Grateful to have a lot of work-work to do today, since it makes 9 to 5 go faster. 

Content with a WFH schedule of Mondays and Fridays, with mid-week at the office. It's helping me to get into this new rhythm, I think. I mean, who doesn't love a pretend 4-day weekend, every week? (I've taken to calling Mondays and Fridays "pretend" work-days.) My new boss is doing well, and making some good, necessary changes. Not all of them are things I want to be involved with -- more e-commerce, more events-planning -- so it's not the perfect job for me, but I'm doing it, he seems to value my contribution, and... there's nothing else out there that I can see, that I want to do. So my M.O. is "accept what is, do my best, and try not to dwell too much on it."

Branching out a bit by registering for a women's networking event tomorrow night. Ugh, I don't wanna. But I do need to create some sort of new connections, since the existing ones aren't dropping any Great! Job! Opportunities! into my lap. 

Studying and half-attempting another health kick: "a plant-slant diet." I've been reading a book by Dr. Michael Greger. Nutrition is soooo interesting. I think it would be too hard to be an actual vegan, like he is - I could never! But some of the principles in his research are doable. Like, getting a serving of cruciferous vegetables every day. They're not my favorite, but as far as medicines go, they're not that bad I guess. Adding flaxseed to things, just 1 TBSP per day. I don't love it, but again, I can manage it. Eating more beans. I do love beans, this is not difficult for me. So, we'll see. For today, it means I have red beans in the crock-pot, and they'll be yummy over rice later. (Brown rice, boo, but whatever.)

Not planning to come back to blogging with real regularity, I'm afraid, but acknowledging that I have done it, for 20 years. ! I'm happy to have a record of that time, and happy it introduced me to so many good people along the way.  

Freelance gig feelings

I just want to remember how I felt doing a recent little writing job, after a friend read the email I sent out about being on the hunt for a better job, and/or wanting to start freelance work. 

My client was her marketing agency, for their client, a well-known fast food chain headquartered here in town. It was a tiny little job -- just writing some headline options for a menu board. 

But it required me to be creative, which is something that has disappeared from my 9 to 5 these last 2 years. The first 13 years, I was writing articles for our magazine, and then for our websites; writing product descriptions, and even asked, from time to time, to come up with marketing content for promo campaigns. Relatable text, "punny" or pop-culture referenced, to catch attention. (Was it always used? No. Once the graphic designer got hold of it, she typically wrote her own text despite having asked me to provide something. That was frustrating.) But since 2023's mess, and budgets being slashed, and various other things taking place like corporate HQ deciding to do all the creative for all the countries, there's been nothing. I was worried my Creativity skill had run dry.

This project proved that wrong. :) I felt like I had good ideas. Some of them came to me in the shower. While driving. While trying to fall asleep. But there were ideas! And they were unique. I was asked to present 5-7 concepts, and I came up with 6, surprising myself (7 seemed like soooo many, I wasn't sure I would have it in me). 

It was a welcome energy rush, I have to say. Made me feel confident, like I could do this freelance thing. Even more so when the agency came back with compliments, no notes. I only spent about half the time I had estimated for the project, which means I won't get paid as much as I would have liked. So that's a lesson for the future. But maybe... there's a future. At least on the side.

I'm not even sure I would fully focus on writing, if I tried to start up a business -- I'd rather do proofreading and editing, which I'm told is a skill that's in demand. But a gig is a gig! I'm proud of myself for the work I did, and kind-of hungry for more. It was nice to test the waters and be reminded that I CAN DO IT.

9 to 5 update: I have a new boss. Again. He's much nicer and much more capable than any we've had recently, so that's good. I know it's not good timing to be looking for jobs during the holidays, so that's on pause for now - I was looking pretty heavily from Aug-Sept. We'll see how I feel at the end of January; that should be enough time to tell about him. I hate that his coming on board has stalled my "Get Me Out of Here" momentum once again. But best to take it one day at a time, I suppose. Do my best, get paid. (Or, put another way: please click but NSFW hahaha I love this woman.)

Poor, Neglected Blog

August, September, and most of October -- definitely the longest I've gone without posting here, since starting this gig almost 20 years ago. Some recappy notes:

• Sent Alex back to UGA for his junior year, but have enjoyed a few visits with him coming home since then
• Did tons and tons of work-work
• Prayed a LOT about my job
• Submitted resumes/applications to at least 7 jobs
• Appreciated working from home
• Watered lots of grass ;)
• Went to two amazing concerts: Billy Pilgrim and Keane
• Sent Kate to Homecoming looking all grown up and beautiful
• Sent her to Jacksonville Beach with her friend, for late-Sept. Fall Break
• Welcomed her home with mono (!)
• Had one fun night (so far) with friends, making use of our fire pit and new patio
• Didn't get called/emailed/acknowledged by any of those dumb jobs
• Wished my manager well, as he was let go
• Had a very uncomfortable meeting with the CEO, but didn't lose my job (pros/cons on that one)
• Went to a UGA football game and Alex got to sit with us (no longer in the band!)
• Helped my parents a bit in Pensacola after a harrowing week of Dad's Parkinson's (seems better now)

Bringing us to now. 

Currently, it's a Friday, I'm WFH, burning a cinnamon-apple candle, and just went outside for some sunshine therapy and stretching. It's a lovely 64 degrees this morning and leaves are starting to turn here. I have 2 meetings, maybe 3, and hoping for time to make chocolate chip cookies today or tonight, just because. Shawn and I plan to go vote early tomorrow morning, and I have a haircut scheduled in the afternoon.  

I'm trying to feel peace even amid all the somewhat not-peaceful things that still swirl around. Grabbing it where I can: sunshine and stretching, baking, naps on the couch. I don't know if my brain has capacity, or desire, to write it all down here. I do know this: all of the seasons -- the waiting ones, the uncertain ones, the indecisive ones -- are part of God's Plan, too. So I guess things are good. 

Everything is as it should be. xo

Farming and the First Day of School

We had some landscaping done, including patching up our lawn. Grass has a hard time growing in all the shady areas of our yard, so along with putting down new sod, the crew "limbed up" several trees, even taking down a few, so that a bit more light could get down to the ground. (I loved when the guy said that phrase, "limbed up." Never heard it described that way before.) 

Shawn read that you should water-in new grass quite a lot, so this morning I am playing in the hose/sprinkler, moving it around to all the different patches. I'm choosing to look at it that way, not "getting wet and muddy after already taking a shower," lol. I actually don't mind. Working from home, no meetings, For The Win. I will have to re-do my hair and change clothes before an 11:15 chiropractor appointment, but that's the only person I'm seeing today aside from the fam. (And she's pretty casual, herself.)

Before all the farming began, though, we ushered Kate off to her first day of Junior year! Yes, school starts very early here. Yes, she's so grown, Junior year is some serious business (she has 2 APs this semester, and 2 next spring). For me, the main thing is it's the first year of her driving herself, wahoo! She could have ridden the bus these last 2 years, and she did, a bit, during the first of those... until she decided it wasn't a good look for her. ;) So I had carpool duty. It made for disjointed work-days. I liked getting a little time with her (when she was nice! haha teenagers) but I'm so glad the driving part for me is done. Glad we could make it happen for her to have a car to drive. Nervous for her in the parking lot at the end of the day -- some of those teens absolutely tear out of their parking spaces, I have witnessed. But hoping she will be extra careful, and have plenty of after-school meetings etc., so she isn't leaving during the mad rush. 

Some bulleted thoughts about school this year:

• I agreed to make her lunch today and probably will tomorrow, but after this I'm going to require that she does it sometimes. Girl can't go off to college in a couple years if she can't even demonstrate that she can pack a lunchbox. It is the smallest of things and she can HELP, for the love. (I did kind-of smile putting her lunch together this morning, though. Grapes and a sandwich, just like her first days of Kindergarten, sunrise, sunset, etc!)
• She's planning to carpool with a friend, actually, so she won't be driving every single day, and I'm glad about that, too. We live so close to several of them. But the main reason is they don't want to walk into the building alone. Even if they drive separately, they plan to meet at someone's car before going in. Solidarity, I like it.
• She and that same friend did not make the high school volleyball team. It was a blow, but they got over it quickly. Subsequently, they both also decided not to play club ball next year, nor beach, so that is the end of a little era! I'm not sad about it. Not sad about my pay raise, either, without those club fees! Instead, the two of them have gotten jobs (Smoothie King), and also signed up at Planet Fitness to stay in shape. Heck yeah! I wish I'd been that motivated when I was her age (or ever). Their plan is to go workout after school on certain days, together. I'm proud of them and hope they will enjoy this new life they're creating for themselves.
• She's doing yearbook this year (my heart! one of my THINGS when I was in school!), and her friend group has started a club called Project Dress, where they're collecting prom dresses and somehow going to get them to girls who can't afford to buy their own. It's sustainability along with helping others, and I'm here for it.

Here's to another August - May! 

After: The bedroom, and other updates

Want to see the final "afters" of Kate's bedroom makeover? Here it is, the best-decorated room in our whole house:

 

I'm pretty jealous. ;) I didn't get a full photo of the vanity, which replaced her student desk, but it has mirror lights and she does her makeup there now. You also can't see the cute white faux-fur rug in front of that full-length mirror. I do love it, and I'll say again that this girl, whether she knows it or not, has a keen eye for interior design.

Funny enough, we completed this whole makeover but she has been sleeping over at friends' houses all summer (and was away at camp for 2 weeks), so it feels like she's barely been in there. I know that's not true, though we do feel a lot like the nest has been emptied lately! Not really in a sad way, just a fact of having older teens that have "better" things to do!

Alex found a job -- at a car wash, he isn't a fan, thanks. He's already told them when his last day will be, because oh darn, he has to go back to college (mid-August). I say it's good to have had a job like that, to know exactly why we go to college. But he has earned some nice cash, including a random $250 bonus in June, and some overtime for working yesterday on July 4th! 

We went to Destin, as we always do. A very nice escape from the day to day (and we didn't see any sharks). Long days in my chair, in the shade, reading a book. I finished two while there: Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld, and Every Summer After, by Carley Fortune. Both were good, fictional beach reads. The first was somewhat annoying because it was about a "late-night sketch comedy show" and everyone knows there is only one of those, really, but the author couldn't use the correct names for things/characters. The plot was great, though. The second was a teen romance that Kate read first and then shared with me, and ohhh, I see why she liked it. ;) I remember reading my first romance novels, too, and am just happy she reads books sometimes. It was fun, easy - just what my brain wanted. I haven't been into the more challenging historical fiction that I typically look for, this year. I think that's meaningful in some way.

We came home a week ago and I admit I'm still having a difficult time adjusting emotionally (ha) to regular workdays. Boo, hiss. I was glad we had one holiday this week, during which I 

-cleaned the kitchen counters and swept floors

-made breakfast and lunch

-helped (barely) paint the mailbox

-read my book

-watched a little Wimbledon and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (gross!)

-took a nap under the ceiling fan

-went out to dinner with some friends, and then got ice cream

-finished another season of The Great British Baking Show, with Shawn's help

That's a "W" holiday right there. 

After digging into my craft supplies bin yesterday for a paintbrush, I'm inspired to get back into some kind of crafts. It feels like I don't have a creative outlet anymore. Even my day-job used to include some creativity in writing articles, but that's gone by the wayside in favor of admin, spreadsheets and meetings, ugh. So I need something. I did a little "mindfulness" coloring today but I'm not sure that's it. A trip to JoAnn or Michael's might be fun, but might also be overwhelming. Got any suggestions for an easy hobby?? 

Nothing Changes, Summer edition

I had a realization in 2023 that it was the last summer I needed to worry or feel guilty about not being around for lazy days, for ice cream runs, for swimming pools, for driving kids to and from activities. THIS summer, 2024, both kids can drive themselves! My motherhood-long problem with summer is finally solved! 

Except... not fully.

Alex is home from UGA, and so far, does not have a summer job. He has applied at a few little places. He has not done much follow-up. And so, he's been home a fair amount. Last week/weekend, both his girlfriend and his best friend were out of town. He was bored and a bit restless, although he did go to the gym a few times, and read a book or two.

But I felt GUILTY on the days that I had to come to my office and leave him at home with the cats.  

Is it my fault that he doesn't have a job? No. Is it my job to entertain him, a nearly-20-year-old? Also no. Do I feel bad about it anyway? Of course I do. I imagine him feeling abandoned, like, "I come home and they just keep going on with their lives, like I don't even matter anymore." Which, I know, is melodramatic and verrrrry far-fetched.

Kate has a lot of friends nearby with pools from which to choose, and a car to drive herself there, and yet I still feel like I "SHOULD" take days off and go shopping with her/them (with Alex too, for that matter; he especially needs new clothes), or, that I'd be a better mom if we could lay by the pool together, sipping from our insulated cups. This is patently ridiculous - we shop enough, lord knows, online. And any teen could confirm, she wouldn't really want me at the pool with her and her friends (the horror)! But I still feel that WISH for things to be different than they are. Why?! Is it because so many of my mom-friends seem to be teachers, or run their own businesses and thus, can have pool days whenever they want? Is it just my innate laziness, wishing to be a lady of leisure? Don't we all? I wish I knew, or more precisely, I wish I could make those desires go away and just accept How It IS. 

Anyway: I still hate summer, although thankfully the super-hot temperatures that contribute to my negative feelings about the season have not quite yet arrived.

I don't want to end on that, however. We're dropping Kate off at camp this weekend, so I know she'll be having fun for the next 2 weeks -- though this year, as a 16-year-old, I think she'll miss home (her friends) moreso than any other year. And we're celebrating my birthday next week -- my BIG birthday! I'm doing a lot of introspective things lately, feeling good and at peace about the milestone of 50. I'm hopeful and trusting that 50 is going to be a good year. 

I'm grateful, grateful, grateful, and my birthday is also part of summer, so I should focus on that instead. :) 

Re-Org

Not a re-org at my office, just in my brain. 

I'm just finding that I really need to SHIFT my mind, and in order to do that, I need to clean things up. So I have re-skimmed my trusty 2007 productivity book, whose lessons are still useful even if the language ("get a PDA or smartphone to help you!") is a bit out of date. I spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday re-working my digital system (in Outlook), creating new Categories, Sub-Categories and Folders, which I hope to use wisely to block time on my calendar and meet my Objectives! Whew!

It's all a bit exhausting at the front-end, but I feel like the situation of my brain being a constant jumble of to-dos and thoughts has got to change in order for me to function better. The next step is a clean sweep of the old Tasks, as well as an attempt to Zero the Inbox. !!

Just this second, I thought, "Maybe I should take my laptop with me to the volleyball tournament this weekend, and delete emails while there?" Of course it would depend on the wi-fi connection in the giant convention hall... but, hmmm, that could be a good use of some time in-between games that is generally ...very wasted time. 

We have also re-org'd Kate's bedroom. It's been... a project. Understandably, she wanted to upgrade from the "little girl" room she had. It has meant all new furniture, which you wouldn't think is necessary, but it was true her dresser drawers did not open very far, did not hold a lot of clothes, and our girl has a LOT of clothes. She chose the new headboard, dresser, nightstand, and vanity (still to be delivered). It's all really pretty, and today, fingers crossed, we will sell the old bed with its heavy bookcase headboard to an acquaintance from church/school. I'm ready to have the guest room back in some kind of order, as well, since that's where we've been dumping everything in the interim.

Anyway, lots happening over here! It's a Friday as I finish this post, but no rest for the weary --  tomorrow we have the "a.m. wave" for Kate's regionals volleyball tournament, which means we have to leave the house by 6:30 probably. But then we finish by about 3:00 pm, and can come home and crash, hopefully. Only to wake up Sunday and do it again. ;) 

It's May, after all! Every mom's favorite month!