Part Time Empty Nest Updates

We made it thru the 1st day of school. Hooray! Ben did wonderful, but remains a little sad himself. He said he hadn’t made any friends yet & he played alone at recess. This makes me hurt for him, but I also know he is really hard on himself. If things don’t take immediately in the social process, he considers that he’s failed in some way. Last year, Pre-K, he gained a best friend within the 1st day. That is the usual for Ben & he adjusts well once all that is taken care of. About the only thing he said about the day was that he didn’t like what I’d packed him for lunch! (Well….ex-cus-s-s-s-s-e-e-e me, child! Cut Mom a little break kid, I’m just as new to the process! Whatever, I’ll try not to take personally.)

The PTA had a “Boo Hoo Breakfast” for parents after dropping the kids off yesterday. I didn’t stay because I felt the sting of tears about to flow & didn’t want to humiliate myself, or those within earshot. I drove home quickly & sobbed for a while. My home felt so very empty & quiet! Just who & why had they stolen my baby away from me this early in life?

I spent the rest of the morning & early afternoon running errands, away from the house. It was incredibly lonely & I figured if I kept busy it’d help. It did in some ways. Hearing littles crying was a trigger for tears. So, any time I heard that I’d quickly leave an area in the store or leave.

Jo had a wonderful 1st day in 2nd grade. He has the same teacher as last year & a few of the same classmates. He loves school & is an excellent student. He’s thrilled for the routine & structures of school. He’s bounced right back into the groove! I’m so proud of him.

The only thing that’s difficult in all of our day is the fact that the boys are both leaving & returning to the same home, going to the same elementary school, but riding separate buses! Jo must ride the special needs bus & Ben has to ride a regular school bus. The buses run over a half hour difference then each other, because the special needs route has to accommodate for lengthier loading/unloading times. It’s hard & I don’t like it at all. We may decide to opt for driving them both together. However, Ben has waited all this time to ride on the school bus & Jo loves his driver and aid. Time will tell what’s best.

Today I’m working on restoring order to the house. I’ve got some laundry running & planning on scrubbing the boy’s bathroom. I’ve already reorganized & clipped the coupons for menu planning on Friday. Later I will have a little sewing to do. I need to hem some shorts for Jo. I’ve also begun this project that I’m hoping to complete…


This is over 6 ½ feet of double rows of stitchery! The design is by Primitive Stitches & is called “Berry/Star Towel Band”. I’ve repeated the pattern across the length of my fabric. There are like, a bazillion French knots in this pattern for the berries. Not fun, but I allowed myself a few lumpier flawed knots, here & there. Especially since the length of the fabric won’t show minor flaws.

I’m working on tea staining the design today & then sewing each row onto the bottom of a homespun valance I’ve made. I saw these similar in Country Sampler & hope they'll look somewhat like this....

The top part of my valance is blue checked homespun.

These will be hung in the family room, which is turning into my most prim room. I’m having fun putting it together. (This is my favorite room in the house right now.) The windows extend the entire length of the room & look out into our backyard. I love to sip coffee & watch the birds, butterflies & flowers from these windows. I picked the simple pattern to tie the outdoors to the in & not distract the view. I’m anxious to get it done.

I’ve got a stack of projects I hope to tackle this fall. I just have to learn to time manage & keep things in balance. It’s all still a struggle & I’m adjusting. Thanks to all the folks that have been praying for all our new changes ‘round here. We need it. Blessings to all!