Almost three weeks ago my daughter moved into an apartment about an hour from home. The transition happened very fast and we had little time to prepare. Within two weeks, she had been offered two jobs, accepted the one that was too far to commute and found an apartment. She had to scramble to make it all happen. Three days before she started her job she had planned to move into her new home.

As the day approached, I tried to put it out of my head, hoping it would be like every other day, but it wasn’t. No calendars or ideas were mentioned and each family had plans of their own, to celebrate the Dads. My Mom and I would spend the day together. After all, it was her first Father’s Day without him as well.

As we arrived back at my house, my children and my son’s fiancee were soon busy working in the yard, as well as prepping for dinner. They scurried about without asking me to assist in any way. Patio furniture and umbrella came out of storage, finishing touches were assembled on my new gas grill, weeds were pulled, and before I knew it……steaks and shrimp were sizzling on the grill.

I hadn’t heard of anyone attending this event before, and didn’t really know what to expect. With my daughter recently moving to Milwaukee, I thought based on the map she might be close to the park hosting the festival. As luck would have it, she was a ten-minute walk to the beautiful Veteran’s Park. I was coming with a friend from another direction, but we made plans to meet.

A few weeks ago, I attended the first of two bridal showers for my future daughter-in-law, Crystal. She had mentioned my son, Andrew, would be going as well, to help her Mother and Father set-up, and would be staying for the celebration. I was a bit surprised he would be hanging around for the entire shower, but I was happy to spend some time together.

A few weeks ago, I figured I better start practicing, since the job would soon be mine. We had heavy rains for what seemed like days and were unable to mow, but with the weed and feed that was spread earlier in the month, it was beginning to look like I might have to bale it……(it’s the farm girl in me…..ha). One day, the sun came out, and would be my only chance to mow before the next rain was due.

As my children got older, one day I knew I would officially be considered an empty-nester. I’ll admit, I had short periods when my daughter was at college or on one of her internship adventures that sorta felt like it, but I always knew she would be coming home sooner or later, and I enjoyed the freedom.

We seem to rally around the cause and somehow make it work. I’m not saying it’s always easy, but I’m saying we try and figure it out. For instance, this past weekend with one brother out of town, the other brother and I tag teamed to do a little lawn mowing, while my sister-in-laws took turns running errands, doing laundry and gathering much needed information. All done with a happy heart.

If you’ve recently followed my blog posts, you know that my Dad now resides in heaven, and last weekend we celebrated his birthday. He was the king of our castle, and the patriarch of our family. Nothing made him happier than being together as a family.

After they were out of recovery and back to the room, it was essential to keep on a pain management schedule, as ordered by the medical staff. Along with the medication, we knew there might be side effects from the anesthesia. Random things came out of the patient’s mouth that had my family, the doctors, nurses and aides laughing.

The grieving process is not an easy subject matter to tackle. What’s good for one isn’t necessarily good for another. With the recent passing of my precious Dad, my Mom had been anxious to clean out his things in order for her healing process to begin.

Someone stopped me at work today and mentioned they heard your name on the radio over the weekend. The radio host seemed to know you well and talked about all the great stories you told. He had mentioned he was at your service so I must have met him, even though I can’t remember in this moment; I think she mentioned his name was Wayne. Oh, how I wish I heard that broadcast.

Earlier in the week my family was discussing his service, and one by one announced they weren’t able to speak. I knew, I was the one that would speak on behalf of the family. Both my brothers and sister didn’t think I would be able to pull it off without breaking down. It was a challenge I needed to master….for him.

We also broke tradition with the family dinner prayer. When I arrived at my parent’s home, my Dad asked if I would say grace this Thanksgiving. I had no response other than “of course I will”, but what my Dad didn’t suspect, I was a bit nervous to have that responsibility. Whenever he says grace it’s filled with tenderness for any heartbreak or situation that needs additional prayer of healing or thanksgiving, and he always ends his prayer uplifting those that are less fortunate. That is one tradition that has never been broken.

Prior to the purchase, the house wasn’t visible from the road, due to overgrown brush and trees. As I pulled into the long driveway, I could see a darling cottage style house peeking through the trees; much of the overgrown brush had been removed. I felt such happiness for my son and his fiancé as their first home together was warmly lit up, and I could see them working together inside. They had done a wonderful job over the last month with their little cozy cottage in the woods.

Recently, my daughter decided to have Tillie the kitten spade, and called while scheduling the procedure; wondering if I would commit to bringing her in on surgery day since she would already be at work. I agreed since my schedule was more flexible. I have to admit right up front, I volunteered out of necessity, but wasn’t looking forward to the day.

My son and his girlfriend have been dating for five years, and recently put an offer in on a house, and I knew the next step would be engagement. Whenever I get the chance to have one on one time with my son, we always have good conversations. Several months ago he mentioned his goal in their relationship was to buy a house first, and a ring second, however her goal was the ring first and house second.

Tillie is a social kitten and isn’t afraid of friends and family. She is playful and has the sharpest claws; my daughter and I have plenty of playtime scratches to prove it. From the time of her arrival, she is often perched on my shoulders, chest and neck. Tillie’s like a parrot, or a pirate kitty, as I sometimes like to call her. She refuses to let me do anything without her getting involved. If i’m laying down she constantly leaps on my head!