chichii, isn't it the truth? I was raised in a family of five, all birth children to the same parents.

I have three children, all have different birth parents because the first two are adopted and the last one we gave birth to. Anyway, any time I talked to mom about how different my kids were, she reminded me how different the five of us were and we all had the same birth parents! It's the truth. And thank God! I'm grateful for my kid's differences. It makes me appreciate each one of them all the more!

Sixteen to twenty hour drive? Egads. How often do you get to see her. In many ways I liked the good old days when everyone stayed in the town they were raised.

Oh how I agree with that concept and yet I was one of the first to marry and leave the hometown. My sibblings are scattered all over the place and my mom ad brother are still in Indiana. My cousins stayed there and get together each week and cooks together they are very close. I miss all that and regret my sons being raised without relatives around them. Too late now to change anything but I do have regrets big time.

chatty, not to worry. I live in the town I was raised and have tons of cousins. For the most part we only see one another at weddings, showers, and funerals. Everyone gets so busy with their immediate family.

Hi Ladies,

I have been struggling with a modified empty nest syndrom since my daughter and her daughter moved out right after Christmas. Although I still have my three year old at home it was hard to accept that my older daughter wasn't here anymore.
I wrote an article about my feelings and hopefully it will be posted at Just For Mom by the end of the week.

Chris(angel)

Hi everyone! and happy new year. I'm back from the beach.

I had a taste of the same empty nest feelings when my teenage sons left the beach house to go home by themselves leaving us only with our little daughter for two weeks. I couldn't imagine being without them long-term...not ready for that yet.

Chris, please share the article when it's posted.

Julie, it's great to see you back. I've been thinking of you in the sunshine while watching the Australian Open. Do you live near there?

I must have been an eagle mother in another life. I felt the same longing to have my young'uns move out of the nest when it was time. I miss them terribly, but I know that it's best for them to be self sufficient and growing up and learning new responsibilities.

I even let my middle child move back for a year, but then bustled about pulling the comfort out from under her to give her the push she needed to get back out on her own. We have a great relationship and see each other often (she stayed in town) and talk constantly on the phone.

My other children are living in a different state and we communicate via e-mail, letters, and phone.

It's a good feeling to know that I raised my children so that they can take care of themselves.

Vicki, I think a lot has to do with our expectations while raising them. By the grace of God, I've always read a lot and most of what I read spoke of raising your children towards independence. My mind set has been that they will leave and it will be beneficial for all.

When they are truly independent, I hope my feelings are of gratefulnees rather than sadness.

Seems like almost every big thing of life is a combination of sadness from loss and joy in gain.
I believe for every loss there is a gain. When your children leave home, you lose the immediacy of them, but you gain your own independence and they gain theirs. You gain pride in their achievements and they gain pride in achieving on their own.
Most importantly, eventually you gain grandchildren. And boy is that ever a terific trade off.
smile

Dotsie and any other interested ladies,

My article has been posted here is the link www.justformom.com/articles_full_text_page,php?article_id=642. Probably won't help much but enjoy anyway.

Chris(angel)