Spring Is In The Air

  The sounds of summer are upon us...even if the weather is yet to catch up.  Through the closed, pane glass window comes the whine of a vigilant neighbor's lawnmower going to town on the Spring grass.  I, personally, am thrilled at our progress in this department- we bought a new lawnmower. Yes, the tags are still on it while the grass continues to inch it's way skyward, but this purchase signals our intent.

  More often than not I hear bursts of children's laughter through that same window indicating the air is warming up enough to lure them away from electronic devices and beckoning them to tear up the grass and good ol' fashioned dirt.  Maybe those tags can stay on the mower a bit longer...

  I've been treated to the long-awaited chorus of peepers over the last few weeks- though it's now a bit of a drive to hear them.  Not like in the past when we lived on 17 mostly wooded acres where every night was a full on symphony.  Peepers can always lift my spirit in a nod to my childhood, when dirt wasn't old fashioned- just fun.  Now, I'm sounding old as dirt...  In truth, that sound mixed with Spring's earthy scent breathes new life into my imagination.  Possibilities abound within this season.  Flowers are blooming while birds return in flocks.  Life seems to rebounding from laying dormant so long.

  I love that there are spectacular peculiarities within each season.  It's a reminder to embrace each one without wishing for the next.

Hmmm, this reminds me of a conversation with my sister about our children, on her son's 15th birthday.  We were marveling at how fast time has flown.  I shared a pearl of wisdom that was passed down to me years ago, during my angst over my oldest changing as he matured, "It is the parents that can not accept these changes that suffer the deepest empty nest depression.  Learn to embrace each season of life and you will be able to enjoy the change that comes. Then, it will be a natural progression to let go as children ready to leave the nest, rather than clinging so tightly to what once was."  I have found that tidbit to be a golden nugget.  

  When my children were all very young and close in age, I had to remind myself of the truth: it is possible to wish away the journey of life while rushing to the destination.  This was a challenge during the stage when I had three in diapers!  Or the time I opened my mini-van and realized all 5 back seats were fitted with car seats.  I've applied it to my my own progressing age- not getting hung up on what number of birthday I face.  I will only be this age once, might as well enjoy!  If this thought is lived out- there can be no regrets.

  Nature continues to guide and teach us about the intricacies of each numbered day...

 Enjoy each moment, with eyes wide open.  Live in the present and presents will be gifted.

The Sandwich Generation

  I've heard we are called the "Sandwich Generation."  Yes, those of us who have the honor, privilege, and hefty work load of caring for parents and children at the same time.

  It is an interesting place in life to exist.  The demands are tough yet the rewards are fulfilling.  To be able to care for your children and to care for those who cared for you while you were a child... it probably is poetic justice.  After all, you are being taught what sacrifices your parents made for you, in real time, as you make
those sacrifices for your own youngsters.

  My husband and I have discussed this very concept in our 5 minute meetings that are placed sporadically through the afternoon and evening.  We exchange thoughts on this topic in passing between running our kids to practice or heading to his parents house or the hospital to ensure they are fed and cared for.  We tend to pick up the conversation as we regroup during dinner prep or most likely dishes clean-up for our own children.  If I'm honest, lately it's been after the kids are tucked in bed that we have an opportunity to catch up on each other's day.  I pray, for his parents sake, that the in-depth care they currently require is temporary and once his mother has healed from her emergency surgery she will be able to do much more for herself.  She has always been so independent- she's like a different woman without her Polish, feistiness in full force.

  I don't know if it's the tone in the house that caused my youngest daughter, who is 6 years-old to look me in the eyes and tell me when she's grown up she will take care of Mommy and Daddy.  I don't quite know how I feel about that.  I suppose my response is a murky mixture of gratitude for a love so great, swirled with resistance to hinder her freedom, along with a hint of dreaded foreboding that we might actually need our children's care one day.

  Yes, the Sandwich Generation has a lot on their plate alongside a healthy dose of much to ponder about the past, present, and future.