The Word Is: Empty

Well, they're both gone. Tonight will be the first night in the (almost) 23 years since Rich and I became parents that neither of our two children are living with us. Neither of them has a "room" in our home any more, and this is how they want it. This is quite a strange time. I feel a new chapter of my life beginning and I do not know what to expect, how to act, or what to do. Here's some of what I am feeling (in no particular order)...

Happy. Sad. Excited. Worried. Relieved. Nervous. Concerned. Panicked. Free.

So, will I sleep better tonight, or will I worry more? Will I have the wisdom to do this right? Will I know what to pray for? Can I adjust my grocery purchasing habits? Can I let go of them the way I know I need to? Can I trust them? Have I done enough? Have I done too much? Will they be okay? Will they make good choices? Will they appreciate us more now, and will they finally start to "get it?"

All of these things, I don't know. Time will tell. Wish me well. This is weird.

"It kills you to see them grow up, but I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't."  —Barbara Kingsolver

"If you have never been hated by your child then you have never been a parent."  —Bette Davis

"Don't handicap your children by making their lives too easy."  —Robert Heinlein

"There are two last bequests we can give our children: one is roots, the other is wings."  —Hodding Carter, Jr.