The past few weeks have been full of activity at our home. We just finished a nice dinner of homemade stuffed shells, yum! We were all here, plus two of the guys who were here watching football all afternoon, also stuck around for dinner. Now they are all taking showers and heading out for the evening. It's 8:00 and I'm ready to settle in. My how the years change things.

Tomorrow the nest begins to empty again. Ouch! Our youngest heads back to school in the afternoon. Big sigh. Then our daughter leaves the following week. Another big sigh...but she's close enough that at least I get to see her fairly often.

Anyone else have kids visiting from college?

No, not me, but I have empathy for you. What I really want to know is who made the stuffed shells, and what is the recipe?

No college kids, but we did have the boys [26 & 28] along with 1 fiance' and 1 Serious girl firend running in and out from Thanksgiving -New Year's. They only live 70 miles away in the same town they went to college in. So, I run in and out at their houses too, not as much though. Plus I usually arrive bearing Goodies, LOL. I do hear and feel your sigh though, our oldest went on an Exchange Program in college (6mo) & later lived across country from us & we only saw him once a year at Christmas. He moved back last Spring after 4 years. I remember that Gosh Awful silence. It was deafening, so quiet you wondered if you could still hear. As often as we see our sons, as old as they are, I still have a brief moment of that Empty Nest sigh as soon as I loose sight of their tail lights. And I say a Little Prayer same one I've said since they started driving.
"Sigh" qball

Lynn, I made them and I'll put the recipe in the forums if you'd like. It's the kind of thing I used to make often when the kids were home, but rarely make any more.

QBall, I have a feeling I will feel the same when as my kids grow older. I absolutely love having the five of us together. It's not that it's always perfect because we do have our differences, but it reminds me of the good old days.

Yes, Dotsie, I would like that. Wow, I bet the kids love coming home to Mom's cooking. Like I said, I can't relate to empty nest, I can only imagine. The leaving has to feel like a pinch of loss each time.

A pinch of loss each time...that's a great way to say it. My daughter goes back for another semester tonight.

How ya doin' by now Dotsie?
I got loss-pinched tonight. Our 28 y/o son came by for a visit (had to be in the area on business). He came in had supper and was gone again with in just a couple hours. Before he left he said he was tired, LOL I wanted to tuck him in bed. I don't think seeing them leave will ever get completely easy.

Dotsie, there's nothing like the whole family together. But now as the years roll by, they'll just be mutliplied. Imagine....daughters and sons in law, little grandchildren running around. You have much in the next phase to look forward to!

QBall, thanks for sharing those feelings with me. I can imagine feeling the same way. But instead of us focusing on the loss, we have to focus on the fact that he chose to stop by and have supper with you. I love it.

I'm fine. Things are back to normal. I can switch gears easily. It also helps to hear from them by phone. I heard form our son and daughter each by phone yesterday. We also do occasional text messaging which makes the distance shorter.

LJ, out kids are 19, 20 and 22. I hope I have some time before the weddings and grandbabies. However, when the time comes, my heart will sing. That's for sure.

Oh, how I remember those days. A piece of your heart seems empty. It does get better, though. And, as life goes by faster (the older you get, the faster it goes), the time between visits seems to grow shorter.

My girls and their families have moved close to us, both within 15-20 minutes with good traffic. But, we don't get to see them as much as when life was slower. They are busy with their families (one has 3, the other 4, children). We can go weeks without seeing each other. We are only a phone call away though, or an email message away.