Where to now?

I offer you my apologies. I haven’t posted in forever and I’ve missed it very much. I’ve thought of my blog often in the past few weeks but I’ve been so caught up in life that I’ve not had the time to set still and think, let alone put words on paper.

We’ve had a lot happening in our family lately. Our oldest daughter found out that she’s pregnant and due in May. Our middle daughter is moving to Idaho 6 months earlier that she thought. Life is always changing; things never stay the same for long.

I cooked a full meal for Thanksgiving but wasn’t able to serve it until 7pm because the oldest daughter had to go to the future in-laws house first. The future F-I-L is very ill and the family is concerned that this may have been his last Thanksgiving with them. I didn’t mind putting off my meal but it did get me to thinking. Cooking is something I do for sustenance not pleasure. Don’t get me wrong, I want my cooking to be the best it can be and I’m always looking for ways to make it better but the honest truth is I would be just as happy having large family meals at a good restaurant. So I’ve made up my mind that in the future we’ll do just that, we’ll go to a good restaurant (Dutch treat) and then we’ll all come back here and I’ll serve dessert. Baking is always so much more fun that cooking meals anyway. Or if the kids insist that we eat here they can either cook it or pay to have it brought in. Let the in-laws cook the big holiday meals; I have nothing to prove.

New grandbabies, children moving across county and new family dynamics have got me to thinking about my own future these days. As my children’s lives change so does mine and for several years now I’ve been trying to figure out just what that means to and for me. I loved being a full-time mother and homemaker, I wouldn’t trade my decision to be one or the time I spent at home with my kids for all the gold in the world but they’re moving on and I’m ready to do so as well.

When I was younger (20’s-30’s) I would often hear motivational speakers say you should make a plan for where you wanted to be in 1 year, 5 yrs, 10 yrs, 20 yrs. I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing but raising a family has a way of side tracking you. Most days I couldn’t see past the next parent/teacher meeting or Wednesday night church, let alone me at age 60. All I could see back then was my children’s futures. I wasn’t focused on where I wanted to be but where I wanted my kids to be…. Passing algebra or HS graduation or college ect. ect.

But I have the kids raised and on their own now and much to my amazement I can see 20yrs down my own road. I can finally see where it is I want to be, what it is I want to be doing. So I’ve decide to start focusing on the things that I enjoy, the things I want to accomplish, the things that make me want to get out of bed in the morning. I did a good job of looking after my kids and now I’m going to start doing a good job of looking after me.

Today while visiting a thrift store I came across something I hope will help me along that road. I found a copy of “The Martha Rules”($1.50). I’ve wanted to read the book for some time now. It never ceases to amaze me how if I wait long enough and look diligently enough I always seem to find things I’ve been wanting. I also found two plates to match my Pfaltzgraff ($1.00 for the two).

I’m not sure this post came out the way I intended but what I’m trying to say is I’m truly looking forward to 2009; I can see it a little clearer now, I'm certian it holds promise and it can’t get here soon enough for me.