Day one of all four of my littles out of the home and off at school and I feel wildly free. I take my fancy self off to the gym with my husband and then over to pick up fancy smoothies from Smoothie King. I leisurely take my time at home showering and doing laundry. I put on my fancy goodwill Adidas high tops because I’m really feeling good and head out to my friend’s house because I’m free and I want to. Who does this? I apparently I do now. My mind is blown. This must be a sneak peak at empty nesting. I think I’m going to adjust pretty well to my new life.
Day two I drop my kids off at school, take myself alone to the gym. I don’t have the energy to stay too long so I take myself home. I sit for a minute or ten. I go shower. I make myself a smoothie. It’s so quiet in here. I sit back down for 10 minutes, send some texts, do some laundry, write a letter, do nothing, turn music on because it’s too quiet. I clean the toilet, make some toast, think about what to make for dinner tonight, walk around the house, think about calling my husband, call the post office instead because a package I ordered in June still hasn’t arrived. I’m off the phone, but the issue is still not resolved. I start prepping for dinner tonight. Why am I so tired? What a weird block of uncharted time I now have five days a week. I think I’m over it already. Maybe I should homeschool. I think empty nesting is going to be terrible. Is this my new doomed life?
It’s been five hours into day two and it’s pushed me over the edge and into the blogging world to find a way to process or escape (I’m not sure which yet) all of these thoughts and emotions I am currently overcome with.
I spent the entire summer thinking on the impending change I was going to encounter. I also read the book Becoming Elisabeth Elliot and know that I want to redeem this new block of time by fiercely loving Jesus and intentionally loving others. What I haven’t done yet is figure out any specifics or logistics other than beginning with what I already have. Lost neighbors open to friendship. Muslim friends who have already opened their arms to me. Broken friends in need of Jesus. A home I can always have open and ready to receive any who come, like the Jewish mom and her two children who were walking home from school alongside us yesterday and asked to use our bathroom and ended up staying for two hours.
Each day may look very different. Some more productive than others. Today was an inactive and emotionally tiresome day. Pray for me as I learn to deal with the pains of adjusting into this new norm.
To use a new word my kids have taught me, I’m a newb to this (newb as in the shortened form of newbie). And Being a newb in this season, please, all you seasoned friends of mine, feel free to send tips, thoughts, condolences, ideas, encouragements, job opportunities, anything that will help my heart in this new season of life I’ve entered.
It's just Me Abby 