When my kids were close to graduating high school I used to go stand in the doorways of their rooms and look inside.  Because I was imagining what I would do with the space after they moved out.  Does that make me an awful mother?  I don't think so.  I was their mother then and I still am today.  Rather, I like to think that it was my role changing and that I got to enjoy my kids as adults...and have more space for me in the house at the same time.  

Rather, I like to think that it was my role changing and that I got to enjoy my kids as adults...and have more space for me in the house at the same time.  

I was proud of my kids and the adults they were becoming.  But I also felt some twinges.  The nest would be empty and they would be gone on their own.   In a way, it felt like I was losing a piece of my identity.  

When our kids become adults, our parental roles change.  Our kids are no longer...

So earlier this month I had a really long week.  Due to the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, smoke settled over my little corner of the world and AQI (thats Air Quality Index) became the new buzzword.  The AQI at my home went from Very Unhealthy to Hazardous and back for over a week.  Which meant "don't go outside."  For my dogs that meant "don't go outside unless to potty, then right back inside." So I'm here to tell you that I learned a few things from this experience:

1. I don't like being stuck inside the house

2. My dogs don't like being stuck in the house either.

3. Being stuck in the house with 4 very bored Border Collies is no fun.  

4. The whole smoke situation made me stressed out and grumpy.

There seems to be a whole number of things to be stressed out about today.  Our current political environment, isolation due to Covid, riots, shootings, natural disasters, the list goes on.  

The interesting thing is that many of us...