The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Mother

Bittersweet is the word people keep using with me right now. "This must be bittersweet." Sending your first born child off to college, is for sure bittersweet...something that brings both joy and pain. It's our goal as parents to send our children off into the world as responsible, intelligent, young adults. I just think most of us don't expect it to happen as quickly as it does. How can 18 years fly by that fast? How can this young man be the sweet baby boy, that was just playing with matchbox cars and Thomas the Tank engine trains? Regardless of times fairness to us, it's happened. Yesterday was a long day, ironically enough. We packed up the car and headed to Lubbock at 9:30 a.m. Dorm gear is ready to go. We had a family dinner for him Friday night. One of his favorite meals, chicken parmesan and spaghetti. As we drove into Lubbock, around 3:45, it was raining and the temperature was only 70! The rain began to clear, just as we pulled into the

I have to say, although complaints about teenagers and tweens can definitely be made (even by me!), my summer with a houseful of them, has been one of the most enjoyable summers so far.  The good: Kids this age sleep in LATE! What does this mean for me? Quiet mornings alone with John or even by myself with time to watch Headline News, drink my coffee, read, go to the gym, do countless chores around the house and all before they even wake up!  They have tons of personality and they really feed off each other's humor and wit. There's lots of laughter in the house. Now not all the humor is exactly appropriate, but even as the mom, they know how to make me laugh! They figure out how to form real relationships with others. I think these two boys of mine (they hate when I call them "boys"), are finally at the age where they understand each other and get along great. Of course the timing is terrible, Bailey is leaving for college in one week and these two have jus