A Heartfelt Thank You for ALL of your Sacrifices!!!!

Thank you to ALL....as I sit and ponder the sacrifices made by our service men and women today and in the past I am humbled because of the amazing gift they have given us!  But I also think of the husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, siblings and extended families who have sacrificed for their loved ones to serve our country.  I kept seeing on FaceBook all of my friends honoring their loved one who have served.  Today I want to honor my nephew who is serving in the US Navy.  He has made personal sacrifices, time away from family, time away from his bride to serve our country.  He does it without complaining and with joy (I am sure Most of the time).  I am so very proud of him and his sacrifices.  In this season of his life he is giving of himself, his time, his relationships, his family to serve our country...I am humbled and I am honored!  Thank you Brian Everette, AT2 US Navy, you are my Hero!!!!!

Do you have a loved one who is serving our country now?  How proud are you?  Have you lost a loved one?  We mourn with you!  We stand proud and strong honoring these men and women and all of their sacrifices every day!  Don't let it just be today on Memorial Day or just on Veteran's Day, if you see a service man or woman buy them a coffee or a soda, give them your seat, shake their hands, give them a hug (much to my children's dismay I have done this while traveling through airports, my children were embarrassed but the hug I received in return was filled with love and pride!).  You never know when the last time they have spend time with family and received a hug that only a family member can give.  Thank them for all that they have given, and give in return!

Again, THANK YOU to ALL of those who serve and have sacrificed today we honor you...every day we honor you!!!!!

Season of eventful happenings...

While going through all of the ups and downs of the impending empty nest, I have been overwhelmed with all of the events happening in my families life recently.  It seems like you go through some seasons of life that seem a bit boring and uneventful, then there are times when it seems things are happening at break neck speed.  This week has been one of those where events seem to be rolling over one another, all good but a bit overwhelming.  No, no one has hit the lottery or made $1million in a day, but the events we have experienced are the ones of firsts and lasts.

In life we chronicle the first times of almost everything we do and experience.  Our kids first steps, the first tooth, the first full nights sleep, the first time they read a book, the first day of school, the first tooth lost, the first baseball game, the first report card, the firsts are important.  With my older children I began seeing the last time they did things.  The last day of breastfeeding, the last day of kindergarten, the last time they crawled in your lap and many in between.  What I didn't do was experience the lasts and found myself later trying to remember the last time something happened.  This experience was lost never to be again.  I had to sit down and reflect on the importance of these lasts, not in a mourning way but in a way of reflection and thanksgiving.  I am blessed that I did because now I experience these lasts by celebrating and rejoicing rather than flying through them and on to the next thing.

This past week I experienced coming home after the last time I would see my oldest son pitch in a college baseball game, his last graduation (at least he says so), and the last experience with his fellow teammates and graduate school classmates.  It was such a celebration, but I came home and reflected about that time and all of the events.  Then the experience of the last day of my middle son's Junior Year of college.  He is now a Senior and in the last year of college.  We celebrated over the phone his achievements and excellent grades and then the first draft of his Medical School application!  Then at the end of the week I celebrated a first with my youngest son, his first campus visit to a school that is interested in recruiting him to play baseball while attending their University in a large US city.  We fell in love with the campus and the baseball facilities while truly enjoying the coaching staff.  It was also a first that my husband was able to attend a recruiting visit with my youngest son.  What a week of incredible happenings in our family.

As I sit exhausted after returning from our trip to the big city and reflecting on the happenings of the week I have one conclusion, I am a very blessed woman!  I thank God for all of the blessings He has placed on me and my family.  Our lives are not perfect but they are perfectly guided by the Lord.

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair---every good path."

Proverbs 2:6-9

        

Season of Happy Tears...Graduation Week for the Oldest Baby!!!!

This is the week leading up to the graduation of our eldest son from Graduate School.  There is so much to be proud of!!!  The following account is the thoughts and experiences of a mama watching her first baby boy graduate from graduate school!

Monday, May 5th:  Today I spent time at coffee with two adorable ladies.  They were so kind to listen to me talk about my son, he is graduating from graduate school! ;)  I reflected on so many good memories and told of all of his accomplishments.  I have never been one to boast about my children.  I always want to present my children as real and hardworking, not perfect.  I always wished I could be the mother of Jesus, but that position was already taken.  I was given the blessing of being my boy's mom through the ups and downs, times of extreme pride and disappointments, but always times of love!  I sat with my friends and shared the love of my oldest son and my pride in all his accomplishments.
Later, I went to lunch with another dear friend who seeps the love of God through an unthinkable time of loss in her life.  She lost her 21 year old son in February in a car accident.  Today she pleaded with me to tell DJ congratulations and how proud she was of him.  When you talk about loving others as Jesus does, this is her, she glows with His love!!!  I thank her for sharing her journey with me, good and bad, and sharing the joy of my son amidst her pain.
After our lunch I went and bought my son's graduation gift, a NICE watch.  While picking the best one with the help of the associate, Helen, I told her this is the son that has gone through phones like most go through paper towels!  They just seem to break quickly, stepped on by cleats, in a bag with an exploding Red Bull, dropped on a sidewalk.  The excuses endless, the monetary cost exorbitant!  She looked at me in such a kind way and said, "He is growing up."  That one little statement hit me deeply. The things he has done as a boy are not habits, they are learning.  I told her, "I pray so!!!"  But I know he is not my little boy anymore, he is an accomplished young man!  His season of life is changing and so is mine.  I miss him as a little boy, but I am honored to know him as a young man.

Tuesday, May 6th:   Today I went to buy a graduation card.  I cried in the store.....
'"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord."  And he worshiped the Lord there.'" 1 Samuel 1: 27-28.

Wednesday, May 7th:  Packing for the trip.  How do you pack for a weekend that you are emotionally divided on?  Is there an outfit for an extremely proud mom?  How about an outfit for an emotional basket case?  How about an outfit for a mother who will be wanting to hug her 'baby' who is now 6 foot 4 inches, platform shoes with a taser?   He is not a fan of a crying mama!  Then there is the outfit that will withstand an extremely proud mom that turns into an emotional basket case while trying to hug her 6 foot 4 inch 'baby' while trying to stay warm at a baseball game in Massachusetts, does it exist?

Thursday, May 8th:  Today I'm leaving on a jet plane, going to celebrate my boy!!!!  A 6am flight is not of my liking but it gets me in early enough to get ready for a gathering honoring the MBA students. When I landed I received a call, 'Mom are you hungry?'  Of course I was so lunch was obtained and to his apartment I went, to then be met with, 'Are these clothes ok for tonight?  Do you think they need ironing?'  Ha!  Of course I ironed them!  He showed me his Scholar Athlete Sash, beautiful.  He gave me his Scholar Athlete plaque.  Amazingly smart young man!!!  I taxied him to the ball field for practice, one of the last times I will be doing that in college.  Bitter sweet!  Got in a little nap before the gathering, now raring to go!!!!  Here's to a night of honoring my boy/man!

Friday, May 9th:  Today is Graduation day for practical students, for my impractical student he will be going to the field 'early' to prepare for the game.  It's OK though because they are doing a graduation ceremony on the field at the baseball game.  Then there was a knock at my door and I was met with flowers and a card from my very handsome son wishing me a Happy Mother's Day!!!  Beautiful!
Later, while looking for parking guidelines to know how to park for the baseball game during graduation day, I stumbled across a live feed for the Graduate School graduation and I was able to watch his friends walk, and I cried.  I cried with pride of what my son has accomplished, I cried for the accomplishment of all of the graduates, young and old, poor and wealthy.  They have accomplished so much, I hope they all realize.  I am so proud of my son, the grandson of paternal grandparents who graduated from Northwestern University and maternal grandparents who did not have that opportunity. Being a daughter of a father who dropped out in 6th grade to work and a mother who left in 11th grade, I boast with pride at the accomplishments of my very intelligent and hard working young man, as I know his grandparents would too!!!
Now here's to the last of three college games that I get to watch for my son to warm up and come in to pitch in relief..

Saturday, May 10th:  The day of a surprise!  In our crazy life of baseball there are many important events that dad just cannot attend.  We have always had Christmas and New Year's together, those are days that baseball is not played and our anniversary is New Year's Eve (methodical planning!). Baseball is an everyday job for eight months a year.  However, when something can be done it is! David flies in today to spend today at the game, a senior dinner tonight and the game tomorrow.  What a blessing to show DJ how important he is to us!!!  And he was very surprised!!!!

Sunday, May 11th:  Happy Mother's Day!!!  This is the last day of possibly seeing my son play college baseball.  He is a reliever so it doesn't always mean he will pitch on any given day.  It is a blessing to spend this day with my husband, DJ's friends and teammates and their families!
He pitched!!!!!  So happy to see him pitch in one of his last college games!!!!

Monday, May 12th:  Today I return home.  I leave behind a man whom I am incredibly proud of!!! Undergrad in three years with a 4.0 GPA while playing Division I baseball, a Masters of BusinessAdministration and a Masters of Sports Management with a 3.9 GPAwhile playing baseball!!! Amazing accomplishments...Amazing future ahead!

This is my season of happy tears, what a week.  Take time to be blessed by the simple and important things in life.  My son has completed another season of his life, and I have also.  I know this one thing, my son has the world ahead of him, and so do I.

"Eye has not seen and ear has not heard...all that God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

Season of Nothing on the Calendar...

As a mom of three boys my life has always been very busy.  When the boys were little I felt the pressure to get the boys involved in many different activities.  I juggled the schedule to have them in seasonal sports, karate, choir, art classes, etc.  Some weeks I would look at my color coded calendar, a different color for each kid, and felt totally overwhelmed.  Often I would be speeding from one activity to another trying to be present for each boy at their activities.  As the boys grew older the activities became more focused on their interests but still we were busy.  One added craziness is that my husband's job keeps him occupied for eight months a year, which meant I did the running alone.  I don't say this as a regret but just fact that this is the way it was.  Some days I would drop in bed at night wondering if I would ever see the light at the end of the tunnel.  There was so much joy watching my kids during these years.  Yes it was overwhelming and exhausting, but the joy outweighed the negative!  I lived and live my life knowing that God has a plan.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11.

As our children grow we find that our calendar is full through out high school but our responsibility of driving them from one destination to another decreases tremendously when they get their driver's license and as the number of kids decreases as they leave for college.  I am at the point of only one in the house and he has his driver's license.  I know when his practices and games are scheduled.  I know when other activities are scheduled, but I don't have to be responsible for getting him there and waiting until he is done.  It seems like a gradual decrease in my responsibilities however you don't see the gradual decrease, you seem to wake up one day, turn the calendar and there is nothing on your schedule.

This is where I find myself, in a season of nothing on the schedule.  Nothing to do, nowhere to be, nothing on the calendar.  It is weird!!!  Don't get me wrong, I have a busy life of travel and organizing our lives.  My husband is in his baseball season, I visit him.  My oldest son is finishing up graduate school, I will travel to see him for graduation.  My middle son is finishing up his junior year of college, he will be home for a few days before leaving for his summer study abroad.  The baby boy is still in high school, I hold him accountable to curfews and school responsibilities.  Changes have happened.  The busyness of being a mom in charge of the schedule has turned into a mom who knows the schedules but has very little responsibility for them!

I don't know what to do with all this time with nothing scheduled!!!!  How do I fill it???  Do I go back to filling it with things to do just for the sake of doing??  Or do I sit back, enjoy the peace and quiet and wait on the Lord to reveal to me the next season of my life??  Maybe the lesson is to sit and wait. I am NOT good at sitting and waiting!!!!  However, I am choosing to enjoy the peace.  I am making plans for breakfast and lunch with friends, and answering the desperate calls from children who need something from me NOW!!!! (It usually begins with a $ sign!!!)  And I wait, I wait full of excitement, for the Lord to reveal to me my next season.

The Season of Beginning...

Today I am starting a new season of beginning.  I am launching my Walking Through Seasons blog.  It is a step out in faith to share my writings and thoughts about the Seasons of my life.  I am not a professional writer but a mom and wife that likes to tell others the interesting stories of my crazy life. This is a blog is the beginning of disciplining myself in my writing and helping me be a better writer of stories.

I invite you to join me in the journey of Walking Through Seasons, a blog about my personal journey as a mom in the season of impending empty nest and all the seasons before now.  As I looked through other blogs about parenting I found a lot of questions being asked about walking through this particular season of impending empty nest and I read the desperation of moms in this season of feeling the loss of our children to adulthood, or some semblance of it.  I don't have the answers to many of these questions but would like to share the stories of my walk.  I hope to tell interesting stories of life as a mom to three boys, how I survived, how they survived, and how I am currently surviving.

I will add interesting things I have learned and am learning.  Not knowing where all this will go please show a little grace in my ramblings and reminiscing.  I found that Junior Prom actually sent me into a journey into the past by sifting through pictures, lots and lots of pictures (that have not yet found a home in any sort of books but live in boxes that have been moved many times!).  The reminiscing will be tearful for me but joyful and encouraging for you, at least I hope.

For a little more About Me, that I didn't include in the About Me section, I grew up in North Carolina, I  have not lived there for 30 years but if you could hear me you would know that I am Southern Born and Southern Bred!  I knew my whole life that I wanted to be a nurse.  I began working as a Candy Striper (spell checked for less laughter!) when I was 11 years old at our local hospital.  I was an eager worker and began volunteering in the Emergency Room at 12 years old.  At 16 I worked in a local nursing home.  After I left for college, Atlantic Christian College (ACC), I would return to work on weekends at the nursing home.  My family nickname was Pooper Scooper, need I say more.  I had great ambition to become a Critical Care Nurse.

My college experience was multifaceted, let's just say I really enjoyed my time.  I pledged the Delta Zeta sorority and enjoyed Greek life!  I truly had no intentions of finding a husband in college, I wanted fun and a degree.  However, I met my husband while I was at ACC.  My mother still says, "I sent you to college to find a husband.  I just didn't know it would be your professor!"   I did not graduate from ACC, it was looked down on that a student and a professor were dating.   The president of the college said I had made a life altering mistake when I chose to leave the school so my boyfriend could keep his job.

I changed schools, my boyfriend proposed, he got into professional baseball, we moved to Florida for this job, I enrolled into Florida Atlantic University to finish my degree.  We married a year later, had a son the next year, another two years later, and yet another four years later.  During this time we bought a house, I graduated from FAU, I worked as a Critical Care nurse, the hubby was Mr Mom for a couple of winters, we then spent three winters in Venezuela, living on the road for four years for baseball, moved to Chicago for one year, then to Boston, while the hubby worked for three different MLB teams during these years.  CRAZY!!!!!  Yes my life was altered in an amazing way and this is only the first 10 years of marriage!!!

Wow, it is exhausting just writing about those first few years!  But oh the stories within those years and the 17 so far that followed.  I have been a stay at home mom, homeschool mom, mean mom, nice mom, downer mom, fun mom, sad mom, happy mom, disappointed mom, proud mom, worried mom, peaceful mom  and so many more moms in between as well as being the same as a wife.  However, through out all of these seasons of life there are few regrets and so much happiness.

Now I find myself with my oldest son graduating from graduate school in eight days, my middle son applying to Medical Schools and going to Spain to study abroad, and my baby boy in his last month of Junior year of high school.  Where has the time gone?  Who am I without kids in the house?  I thank God that He has given me the passion to live life to the fullest through all of these seasons and I know that more grace abounds.

Hopefully you will walk along with me through this new season of my life.  I don't know where it is taking me or how I will survive, but I know I will survive!!!   The experiences of all the seasons of my life have prepared me for this time, let's walk this together!