Midlife and....Realizing that in Two Years I'll be Going From 3 to 1 Kid at Home

 I understand I'm a mom first and foremost.  I cherish my time with my kids and soak it up because I am aware time is fleeting.  However, that doesn't mean I don't prioritize myself because I totally do.  I take care of myself first, even if it means my kids need to wait for a meal or wait to spend time with me.  I hate the phrase "self-care" but I get it.  I get the essence of it and I know that the time I take for my self-care (which normally equates to resistance training in the gym) makes me a better mom.  A better human.  It clears my head and allows me to deal with the big and small thrown at me by my kids.

But this is not a self-care post.  It's about the time I have with my two oldest kids.  My oldest will graduate next year, in 2023 and his plan is to head a little south and dorm for college.  My middle will graduate the following year.  He has some colleges in mind all of which will have him leave home and the state.  The same year the middle finishes high school the youngest finishes middle school, a natural break in learning where schools will need to be changed.

I'll be peak midlife and only have one child under my roof.  How strange to think of it.  But life pushes on and I've talked with her about my and my husbands plan.  We always viewed the graduation of our middle child as our opportunity to scoop up the baby and pivot.  PIVOT!  

Midlife and opening a new door of my life.  To start a new adventure with my baby (who'll be 14) and my husband.  Of course the baby is on board and she is excited.  She is literally counting the months down as I type.  When I feel depressed or at my wits end I remind myself that in 2-years all of this will change.  Everything.  It excites me.  I don't like feeling stagnant.  I want more out of my life and this is the next opportunity for it.

My boys know this and they are fine because they realize they will be young adults cobbling together their own path.  They know where we will be and we will still spend key dates throughout the year together and it excites them.  The change for all of us.

Midlife and shaking it up.  Midlife isn't just getting old and sitting around and eating early dinners.  Midlife is the new freedom.