Cherishing the Moments

We haven't carved pumpkins in years but this year I felt a little urgency to go and buy a few so we could have one last family carving before the family is separated next year. I get a little sad thinking about it but I have to face the fact that this is my last year with family at home. Cory will be getting married this year and making his own family memories and Hannah will be heading to college somewhere. Amber has already flown the coop to Bowling Green and I'm starting to feel an urgency to grab all the memories I can this year with them. I know, in reality, that we will all still be making memories but it seems like the times of having more than one kid around at a time are fleeting by quickly. When I move to Atlanta next year, I will be experiencing empty nest almost immediately. I'm hoping that Hannah will come and be there for awhile until she leaves for college but she is starting to show signs of wanting to hold onto Colorado and establishing her independence and I'm not sure I want to let go of her just yet.
I've always told myself that my job as a mother is to make my children independent of me. To teach them to fly on their own. I think I've done that but it's still scary to let them out of the nest. I feel like I've missed a little bit of teaching along the way and I want to protect them from mistakes and trials. But with growing up comes a lot of learning and that learning can only be done when they are out flying on their own. I hope I've gotten them prepared for what lies ahead but I know that I will always be there to guide them along until they have found their way. So for now, this year, I hope I can cram a few more memories in while I can. I hope they will be somewhat cooperative and humor me with their time a little. It's been a weird year, that's for sure, but I can't sit around moping about being away from Russ and miss these last few memories with my kids. The time flies by so quickly and these moments will be gone before I know it.