Usually, I try to be clever here.
On Sundays, I like to come up with a little song-and-dance routine to tempt you to keep reading and maybe help you discover something you might have missed last week. Some little gem that escaped you as you scrolled through all the Black Friday e-mails and updates from Twitter.
But I’m too tired for that today.
I just said good-bye to my two college kids, who drove off on their eight-hour trek south back to school.
It was an emotionally draining week, having everyone home and truly feeling the weight of being the parent to four children.
It’s exhausting.
And while I might not have cooked as many meals as they would have liked and didn’t greet them with our larders overflowing with Tostitos and Oreos, just having them all back and under my roof reminded me of the incredible responsibility I undertook when I went and had all those kids.
And I don’t mean to put this on them. We had a perfectly nice week together, for the most part. My big girl and I shopped for our Christmas candles and my son, well, I think we had a nice conversation or two.
It’s just that having one kid – much less four – is a tremendous responsibility and it turns out, there is no expiration date on worry.
After years of asking if other parents were going to be home and monitoring curfews, when your kids go off to college it truly is out of sight, out of mind.
You don’t go to bed wondering where they are and what they are doing. You just assume all is well in College Land.
But when they are back under your roof, you tend to worry more. And not just about their late-night activities.
You worry whether they picked the right majors, are studying hard enough, are getting along with their roommates and if you somehow could have done a better job teaching them everything they needed to know to get along in this world.
You worry that you weren’t everything they needed you to be.
But then you make them some pancakes and hand them some water bottles and they drive off and take some of that worry and a big piece of your heart with them.
And you go back to bed.
While I’m resting, here’s some stuff I considered this week to keep you busy until I can start thinking again.
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![ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE](https://qkm583.n3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Boghosian_19bonnie_photos3_LIFE-1-150x150.jpg)
ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
I’ve been a Bonnie Raitt fan since her breakthrough album, Nick of Time, was released in 1989. Back then – in the last days before I got married – I liked her bouncy music, rough voice and catchy lyrics.
Later, my then-husband and I saw her in concert and I think we went again to see her perform locally after her next big album, Luck of the Draw, came out in 1991. (READ MORE … )
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Top 5 Things Bloggers Are Thankful For
‘Tis the season for giving thanks, and all that, and for my first Thanksgiving as an official blogger, I’d like to share what’s brought me joy this year:
1. Sweatpants: For the five years he lived in the house I live in now, my ex-husband shared a walk-in closet with me. He had one side and I had the other and everything seemed to fit inside it perfectly. But once he moved out, and took all his jackets and ties with him, my belongings seemed to multiply exponentially. Now, the closet is jam-packed with more blouses, skirts and scarves than you could shake a stick at. But if you stopped by my house on any given day, you’d find me perched at my kitchen island in front of my laptop sporting some type of loungewear. What better way to accommodate an insanely sedentary lifestyle than with elastic? (READ MORE … )
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I Survived Black Friday and Teen Angst, All in One Night
It started out as an attempt to humor my teenage daughter who had seen one-too-many Target commercials encouraging shoppers to prepare for Black Friday as if it was the Olympics of shopping.
Spurred on by the fun we had last year hitting a few stores in the early-morning hours the day after Thanksgiving, coupled with all of those savings she envisioned (she has tons of her own money and is indeed a thrifty shopper), my daughter was gunning to hit some big box stores late Thursday night. (READ MORE … )
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A handy way to keep up with me and all my worrying is by signing up to get new posts emailed straight to your inbox. You don’t even have to find me through Facebook. We are separate entities.
Just fill your email address in the “Subscribe to blog via email” box, which is to the right of this post if you’re on your laptop or if you scroll way to the bottom if you’re reading this on your phone. Just keep scrolling, it’s there. Fill in your email address and then go to your inbox where an email will be waiting that you need to open to confirm your subscription.
And feel free to let me know if you’re worrying, too. It will make me feel better.
I wanted to let you know I throughly enjoy your blog and look forward to reading it. You could even count me as a fan. It is a gift to be able to express in words, moments in everyday life that are poignant, funny and pierces the heart.
Colleen … so nice. Hard to find words to convey my great appreciation. 🙂
B my name is Bonnie and I’ve been there, done that. But you give words to my experiences. Thanks
B my name is Bonnie. I love it and your comments 🙂
I enjoy your blog. I am a divorced father of 4, and must disagree with your sentiments this time. I also have 2 in college, 2 not yet there and it was fantastic having them around all this long weekend, time goes by so fast, it brought back all the memories of being a real full family, if only for 4 days! We must appreciate these times, not many left.
“F” … so glad you’re following along. Don’t get me wrong — I loved having the kids home. It’s just that having them all back under one roof for a week brought my latent worries to the surface. I just felt the full weight of being their mom when they walked through the door last Friday. Glad you enjoyed your time with your guys 🙂
Met you at Meghans, enjoy reading your posts and I don’t have “kids”!
Hi Mac! So nice meeting you last weekend and glad you found the blog 🙂
Exhausting is right. Then when they start having kids of their own you really begin to worry that you messed up. Kids bring the highest highs and lowest lows, so I’m on a perpetual swing among the 6 of them. Add sons’ spouses and I’m totally schizo. Christmas here I come. My wine glass is right here.
Polli … it never ends, does it? Well, I guess this is good for me to know.