Next chapter….

Every read a book that you love so much that you can’t wait to turn the page to learn what adventures you will take through the book…..it’s all so exciting until you get near the end, and then the joy about the story begins to turn bittersweet as you realize that you are nearing the end of the book, and the book brought so much joy!

That’s where we are in life right now. Today, we will travel to take our son, Elliott, our youngest, to college orientation. This fall, he will enter college as a freshman. We are so excited for him, and also for us, as we’ve never been “empty nesters” in our entire marriage – not even when we married since our two oldest children, my husband’s from his first marriage, lived with us. So, we are anticipating this new phase with much excitement, but at the same time, the excitement is tinged with a bittersweet feeling, as we near the end of this one story. The adventure and joy of children underfoot and in our lives. All the noise and mess and food and laundry and laughter and love that has filled our house will change fairly significantly. Like nearing the end of a beloved book, you can’t wait to turn the page, but you are a bit sad to be near the end. That is, until you find (or write) the next story……find the next adventure….open the next book.

What do you do that brings so much joy and happy memories? How do you sustain the joy until the next story begins?