Love this - and 1000% agree about picking up the phone when they call because you might miss the moment. And I love your perspective on deep thinking. I think that's where I'm at these days with my empty nest life, too. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this. My children are still young (7 and 11) but sometimes the questions they ask catch me off guard in the best of ways. And I still talk to my mom on the phone every Sunday. Somewhere along the way we started talking on Sundays. Now we both carve out that time.
The parallel universe version of ourselves is so seductive. Though I'm not sure she'd have made better decisions — just different ones with the same amount of second-guessing.
Am with you 100% - if they call, I take it if at all possible. Sometimes it's for deep conversation, sometimes it's just to de-stress or for companionship on the long commute home. Sometimes it's a facetime that one of the 16 month old grands somehow figured out. But every time it's worth it.
Mine are 31, 29, and 25. Generally, the deep conversations come from my boys on either end (the middle one has her hands full at the moment). They range from theology to scientific or historical discoveries - whether they are new or just new to them, to world events, etc. I never know what and when those will be - and I love every minute of them. Conversations that they want, that they initiate, that make them - and you - think.
“Conversations that they want, that they initiate” - that is the whole thing, when I call they are distracted, when they call there is lots for them to say.
What a beautiful essay. I've had to read it several times, not because it is too complicated (it's not, it's just right) but because the thoughts that it provoked in me were so random that I needed time to sort them. That is, for me, what makes a piece of writing so rich, the broad spectrum of ideas and memories it produces as I read. Almost as if I ought to take notes so that I don't forget (I did).
My children are 30, 28 and 28. Their adolescence and young adulthood was blighted by illness and death and I worry about the effect that has had on them. But those experiences have moulded them into the young women they are and I would not have them any other way. I think about what I could have done better, but I try to remember what I did well.
Thank you for the lovely comment. That is one of the things I want most from this writing - being able to connect with those that are reading my articles. The fact that it sent you somewhere unexpected is the whole point. So glad it landed.
Love this - and 1000% agree about picking up the phone when they call because you might miss the moment. And I love your perspective on deep thinking. I think that's where I'm at these days with my empty nest life, too. Thank you for sharing this.
Aww thank you for the comment. I think the empty nest has a way of making space for exactly this type of thinking - so glad it resonated.
Thank you for sharing this. My children are still young (7 and 11) but sometimes the questions they ask catch me off guard in the best of ways. And I still talk to my mom on the phone every Sunday. Somewhere along the way we started talking on Sundays. Now we both carve out that time.
7 and 11 - what great ages. That is when the questions get interesting. Treasure these days they go by fast.
If only there were parallel universes where I could have a chance to make different decisions when raising my children.
The parallel universe version of ourselves is so seductive. Though I'm not sure she'd have made better decisions — just different ones with the same amount of second-guessing.
Loved the read! I loved the title too! It’s the important stuff that we sweat over: family, home, safety! And that’s what makes us who we are🌸
Am with you 100% - if they call, I take it if at all possible. Sometimes it's for deep conversation, sometimes it's just to de-stress or for companionship on the long commute home. Sometimes it's a facetime that one of the 16 month old grands somehow figured out. But every time it's worth it.
Mine are 31, 29, and 25. Generally, the deep conversations come from my boys on either end (the middle one has her hands full at the moment). They range from theology to scientific or historical discoveries - whether they are new or just new to them, to world events, etc. I never know what and when those will be - and I love every minute of them. Conversations that they want, that they initiate, that make them - and you - think.
“Conversations that they want, that they initiate” - that is the whole thing, when I call they are distracted, when they call there is lots for them to say.
What a beautiful essay. I've had to read it several times, not because it is too complicated (it's not, it's just right) but because the thoughts that it provoked in me were so random that I needed time to sort them. That is, for me, what makes a piece of writing so rich, the broad spectrum of ideas and memories it produces as I read. Almost as if I ought to take notes so that I don't forget (I did).
My children are 30, 28 and 28. Their adolescence and young adulthood was blighted by illness and death and I worry about the effect that has had on them. But those experiences have moulded them into the young women they are and I would not have them any other way. I think about what I could have done better, but I try to remember what I did well.
Thank you for the lovely comment. That is one of the things I want most from this writing - being able to connect with those that are reading my articles. The fact that it sent you somewhere unexpected is the whole point. So glad it landed.