Howdy friends!
It's been a while!
Since we last chatted, my soldier came home.
Yay!
He actually lives three hours away from us, but came home to sleep off his travel hangover, eat lots of home cooked meals, and leave his ginormous duffel bag full of dirty laundry in the hallway for me to trip over in the dark three times until I finally got smart and moved it.
(Yes, I could have moved it after the first time, but I'm a slow learner.)
Over the last year, Junior had developed a pretty major aversion to sand, so it only seemed right to whisk him away to Hawaii in an attempt to create some new, happy sand related memories.
* Hawaii is wonderful.
*Kona Coffee Milkshakes are wonderful.
*Warm air on your skin after a Montana winter is wonderful.
*Visiting a place called Slaughterhouse Beach four different times and leaving Slaughterhouse Beach four different times with all of your friends and family still alive and relatively unharmed is wonderful.
*POG - passion, orange, guava juice is wonderful. Why don't they sell it in Montana?
*Sailing trips on very windy days are wonderful.
And wet.
*Not taking your laptop to Hawaii is wonderful.
*Hearing Adele sing "Set Fire to the Rain" one time on the radio whilst driving along the Maui coast five days ago and subsequently having the song playing constantly in your head every moment since is not wonderful.
Time is flying, folks. My youngest leaves for Army boot camp in two months and I'm feeling the need to grab and hold on to every minute that I can between now and then.
My nest will be empty for the first time in twenty four years.
Oh boy.
If I'm a bit scarce around the blog, just know that I'm spending my time soaking in the last little bit of my life as a full time mama.
If I'm still scarce after the next two months pass, just know I'm probably crumpled in a heap in a corner, humming "Sunrise, Sunset".
Have a wonderful Thursday!
Being an empty nester totally rocks buuuuuut if my babies were in boot camp/deployed I would be feeling sad too. Prayers for you today. Once he flies the coop, I want to see lots of blogging. ;) Gardening please. :)
ReplyDeleteSuch lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteWow, a trip to Hawaii – how invigorating and exciting!
You are too funny…I can just picture it, you in the corner – it’s a sad picture, but you are funny.
It is good to enjoy your children.
☺ Hope
Hey Sweetie Girl -- been thinking of you. My son is (only)thinking about heading south for 9 weeks this summer for a job, and I am already slumped in the corner singing "Sunrise, Sunset" -- so I feel for ya! What a privilege to be a mama - and what a hard thing to "let go." Hawaii? I'm so jealous -- but happy, happy for you. Love ya! ~Sal
ReplyDeleteoh to be in Hawaii again!! we were there for our honeymoon 17 years ago. Beautiful photos of a lovely place! Definitely take time to saovor the next two months, we will still be here when you return :)
ReplyDeleteI wondered where you went! Been checking your blog for updates :( But glad to hear all's well. Yes, I feel ya. My 26yr and 23yr olds just went for a 10-day holiday and already I've been listening to all the songs they've ever composed/sung. sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (but I still have my baby 17yr old.
ReplyDeleteMy baby is still my baby he is only 10 but reading about your boys leaving tugs at my heart for I know time goes by too fast. Hold on tight to every second. Take his hand and follow where he leads you for the next few months. Cleaning can wait, weeding can wait, blogging can wait....
ReplyDelete@ 3Beeze Homestead
"Sunrise, Sunset" gets me every time! It's such an emotional song. Enjoy your time away! That's very understandable that you need to be away from blogging. You must be so proud of your boys!
ReplyDeleteSarah
singanddontbesilent.blogspot.com
(It's Titanic Week!)
Well this too shall pass as they say and you will adjust to being empty there and actually get to really enjoy it. Now is the time when you can start to do all those things for yourself without having to care for others but for your husband who hopefully will be around for the next phase of your life. Life is filled with transitions and this is a big one. We women just have to learn to deal with them. Nan
ReplyDeleteI missed you!
ReplyDeleteThese are the most beautiful pictures! I hope y'all will have a real peace about your son going to boot camp.
ReplyDeleteAllyson
http://cupcakescandycanes.blogspot.com
Gorgeous photos! I'm happy for you that you got to spend time with your family, and sad that your youngest is soon off on his adventures. No matter how much we prepare them to fly, it's got to be heart-wrenching, especially when it's your baby. I can't even imagine what sort of basket case I'll be then. But would you please consider coming back now and again so we can live vicariously enjoying your spring garden? It will help us not miss you as much!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a wonderful trip! I was just thinking about you today and wondering where you'd been. I have a senior portrait shoot this weekend, and I SO wish you lived closer so that I could send them your way...it's really not my thing! Our youngest will be moving out soon, so I feel your pain, and I can't imagine if I was sending him off to boot camp! I remember when they sent my brother's clothes home from boot camp, my mother cried for days! Enjoy this time together!
ReplyDeleteKat
When the 5 of us move in, your nest technically won't be empty though...right?
ReplyDeleteyour posts are always worth the wait... :)
ReplyDeleteenjoy those precious times!
Wow Hawaii looks so wonderful!
ReplyDeletea chilly evening here in Ireland but a magical sunset over the mountains!
Take care
Denise
I was wondering where you were. Oh, you're making me tear up :( I'll have to give all my little boys an extra hug today.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time. Kids are our lives for so long that hanging on to them just a wee bit longer is so natural. I am looking forward to your summer posts though as you gardens bloom and grow!!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for your family's service. Praying that you'll be able to fill that empty nest with warm memories, new interests, letters, phone calls and more visits from loved ones than you know how to handle.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank your soldiers for us. I now how I felt when my son was deployed. It was sooooo hard. Having an empty nest isn't all that bad as long as you can visit with your little birdies.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I have missed your posts, but what you are doing right now is much more important! Enjoy every minute that you have with your sons and tell them that I appreciate their service!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the time with your family! I'm so jealous of your Hawaii trip!
ReplyDeleteBecca
www.homeishweremystorybegins.com
Soak up every moment . . . you deserve EVERY . . .
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having fun! Enjoy your time with the youngest. Time with your family is way more important. We'll be here when you get the time. :)
ReplyDeleteI love POG! It always brings back such memories. Sometimes they have it in the juice aisle here in Colorado, so maybe they will sometime in Montana!
ReplyDeleteYou are wise to grab on to these moments as time does not stop for us. Sometimes I lie in bed and remember hearing the door open and the kids come home. They all have their own homes now and their own kids and those days of us being a nuclear family are just distant memories. And then one of them moves 2000 miles away and takes your granddaughters away.. it's a bummer not to be able to hold them all close forever.
ReplyDelete((hugs)), Teresa :-)
Oh that song breaks my heart! While I can't understand fully just yet (mine are 11 and 8) I do see the years flying by. And yep...I'll be crumpled up in a corner too. Sweet Girl goes to middle school in the fall, and while that's a relatively easy transition for most folks, this mama is teary eyed. I agree...I want to hang onto every minute and make each one joyful. Don't fret about us...we'll hang around, you simply have a ball with your family making memories!
ReplyDeleteThere is so much going on for you right now T! Enjoy every moment of these next 2 months. Hawaii was a great way to kick it off. I can't believe you snuck away with nary a word of it!
ReplyDeleteSpending your time with someone you love is the greatest thing for you to be doing right now or
ReplyDeleteANYTIME. . .Enjoy every second of it!
We will be thinking of you but not begrudging any time you are spending with your family and away
from the computer.
Best Wishes,
sj
I went looking for you because I missed you and saw this from yesterday. You must have known! I am praying for those boys of yours. And you. Tell them how much I appreciate their service. Hug them all you can and make some memories. An empty nest can be pretty sweet though. Makes you have more time for the one you chose first. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful reminder, Janie!
Deleteso glad you are happy, healthy and safe. Enjoy your family, we all understand.
ReplyDeleteAloha! So happy to hear that you are alive and well. :)
ReplyDeleteTeresa, your photos are magnificent! You make me want to jump on a plane right now and head to Hawaii. After a Montana winter you are definitely deserving of such a wonderful trip, especially with your family. Thank you for sharing such beautiful memories and I wish you the best in the coming months.
ReplyDeleteAloha!! Wonderful trip. Missed your posts for a while...
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. My nest will be empty in August after 27 years. I'm grateful, of course, that everyone is growing up and moving on as they should but my oldest better hurry up and give me some grandchildren is all I can say!
ReplyDeleteI'm super jealous about your trip to Hawaii! So glad you got to spend that time away with your family! It looks glorious!! I'm sorry your nest will be empty soon, but I know you are soo proud of your boys! I 'm grateful for what they do and they are remembered in my prayers!
ReplyDeleteWhat fantastic pictures! That empty nest thing is rough on mamas, but after awhile you do get used to it...just about the time you become a grand-mama!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and God's peace be with you and your family during this transitional time in your lives!
ReplyDeleteOh Mama. (((hugs))) What wonderful men you have raised! Post often so that we cheer you on as much as you need us to, once the day has come. Prayers for all of you and especially for your aching heart.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear from you, so glad your family visited Hawaii! But mainly so glad your boy is home from that other sandy place - yay!!!!! Yes, 5 exclamation marks, because that's just exactly how happy I am about that! So you go ahead and spend every sec with your boys, soak it all up. Just so I know what you're doing, I won't worry :) I do get paid to worry, you know ... not a lot, but, well, enough to keep me on the job. Love you! Mary
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited you for sooo long. You must be such a proud mom to have your sons serving our country. Thank them for me! As for empty nest, it has its ups and downs. We have been EN for almost a year now and I'm just now starting to really like it. The first few months sucked!! We just have to realize when we look at our kids what a great job we did as mothers or they wouldn't be in independent!!
Hugs,
LeAnn
oops, so independent, not in independent...lol
ReplyDeleteOnce you've adjusted an empty nest can be a good thing . . .
ReplyDeleteI was gone and missed this post. I'm so glad you had the chance to take him to HA...sun and sand in a great way!! I understand having an empty nest can be great and not so great. I hope you will adjust quickly and find yourself busy doing things.
ReplyDeleteI think we were in Maui at the same time [3/28-4/11] - your photos look very similar to mine! Isn't it just an amazing place? Did you have dreams of Hawaii a few nights after returning like I did?
ReplyDeleteThis really is wonderful article ! I simply love’d it !
ReplyDeleteHello Teresa, this comment has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with your lovely holiday post; I just wanted to say I found your blog via Jan at Be*mused and am SO taken with your beautiful farm, your kitchen, and your photographs in general! I've read a few months worth of posts but still have a way to go with your archive.
ReplyDeleteI live in a very small cottage in an English village. Very quaint but not full of light and space - well, you can't have everything, can you? My family has flown the nest - both my boys were in 'the military' and survived to bring up their own families. But we have a great life here in our little corner of the UK - just wish our weather was a little more like yours!
Bye for now, and thanks for the great pictures!
My first reaction was: Wow! That's quite the farm! Glad you had a great holiday!
ReplyDeletesounds like you had a wonderful, well deserved vacation.... enjoy your baby!!! nancy
ReplyDeleteHow very beautiful your blog is...and, how heartwarming it is to read about your young son returning home. I can truly understand...My youngest son returned home from Iraq & Afghanistan in March. We are so thankful to have him home on US soil. He is a newlywed and his darling wife is happy, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your wonderful blog. I look forward to visiting again.
Blessings,
Carolynn
ps. Aloha...We were stationed in Hawaii for over 5 years...and, Honolulu is our oungest son's birthplace.