So I have been a mother-in-law one whole week already. So far, so good. 🙂 It seems unreal that Jason has been married a week now.
There has been an odd sensation of waiting for him to come home, in the evenings, especially. Always before when he was out with Mittu he came home at night, so Mama Hen didn’t go to bed til everyone was back home and doors were locked for the night. The first few nights there was just this odd sensation of waiting for him and of course realizing he has a new home now. There have been a few pangs of missing him, but mostly there has been joy for the both of them. I’m just glad they’re living close by. I do feel bad for Mittu’s mom — the only time I “lost it” during the wedding reception was when she said she was alone now and started crying — then I started crying as we hugged each other. She does have a wonderful church family and a number of Indian friends and family, so she’s not totally alone, but it’s not quite the same. We Moms know the day is coming when we send our little chickadees out of the nest on their own, and we know that’s how it is supposed to be, but it is still an adjustment.
Since he is our first child to be married and since we never lived near either set of parents, this is new territory for us. We want them to feel generally free to come over any time but don’t want them to feel obligated. I hope we can continue our Sunday dinners together with them and Grandma, but we’ll understand, especially as they start a new Sunday School class for young marrieds and make friends there, that they might want to get together with others some times. And, of course, they will just want to be alone together some times.
It will probably take us a while to settle into new rhythm of a new normal. But they’ve had fun this week setting up housekeeping and we’ve had fun vicariously as they did.
This week Jason reluctantly has to go back to work. He’s wishing they could follow the Old Testament injunction that a husband not “be charged with any business” for the first year of marriage (We know a couple who actually did that: they went camping for their whole first year of marriage.)
Jim heads back to his first full week back as well, and Jesse starts school Friday. Odd, I know, to start on a Friday, but it is just a half-day run-through so they have their books and know their places and can start in full-fledged the next Monday.
I have mixed emotions about school starting. I love the laid-back pace of summer and hate the thought of the regular weekly/monthly schedule getting full again. But I am about ready to get back into a routine, and I’ll love getting my seven hours of quiet back. 🙂
Quilly mentioned the other day that I’ve had a lot of life events going on; Jason’s birthday, then an out-of-town trip and his wedding, then Jeremy’s birthday. We have more to come with getting ready for school and then my birthday coming up on Friday, then we have a bit of a respite til Jesse’s in September. I call mid-July through mid-September our birthday season as all of us except Jim, and now Mittu, have our birthdays in that time period. Then our church is having a reception for Jason and Mittu Sunday night.
We got Jesse’s school supplies set: now one day this week I need to take him over to the uniform store to get new pants — 45 or so minutes away, unfortunately. His shirts fit, but his legs keep growing. 😀 I was supposed to take him for his driver’s test and to get his eyes and mine checked during the summer. I may try to squeeze those in this week.
I start the week with a dentist’s visit for a cleaning — no fun! Hopefully it will just be a cleaning and they won’t find anything that needs work. Then amidst the getting-ready-for school activities I am hoping to get a start on my sewing/craft/guest room. A few times over the summer I was itching to get some of those things organized but kept telling myself I may as well wait til I got ready to move it all into the new room. I’m searching for a work table, a white bookcase, and trying to decide on a futon, daybed, or sofa-sleeper for a place to sit and for overnight guests to sleep. My preference would be for the sofa-sleeper….but that is, I think, the most expensive option and may not be plausible.
And I have three book reviews I agreed to do, besides the ones I do just for fun — I’ve read one of the books, one is waiting for me, and one should be coming soon. And there is my lingering list of things to do…like those curtains I still haven’t gotten to…
So it looks like I have plenty to do to keep busy in the next several days!
Stray Thoughts 
Your nest is not yet empty, so there’s much to do, but you are getting a hint of the future when it’s empty. At first, I did not like it, but now oh! how I love my home. It stays the way I like it, and as you mentioned, it’s a quieter place.
My birthday is coming on Thursday! Happy birth-week to a fellow Augustian. 🙂
I didn’t realize you did book reviews by request — I thought you were one of the few other hold-outs on the internet. How’s that going?
How wonderful: 7 hours of quiet. I can’t imagine such a thing! 7 minutes would be awesome in my verbally-charged home.
There’s something special about Sundays with family. I wish we could do it more ourselves. Our families are just an hour away, so it’s maybe a once-a-month thing. What a blessing to have your son and new daughter so close.
Happy birthday to you, too! I always liked having my birthday in August because there were no other major holidays then — so my birthday was my holiday for the month. 😀
I only do a few book reviews by request and those are usually by an author I have read before or know something about. I get a few “blind” requests but so far I have only declined those. Once or twice the blind or unknown requests have left a link to a web site with info. about the book, and either it was just not interesting to me, or the excerpt listed was so poorly written that I don’t know if I could have found anything good to say.
I do feel with any book review I have to be honest: if there are parts I don’t care for or don’t agree with I have to feel free to say that. I’m not just providing a free gushing commercial for them. But since I love books and love to discuss them I’m happy to promote ones I like.
I don’t get any compensation except that I get the book for free — a bonus for a book lover. 🙂
In most cases it has not been a direct request, but on someone’s web site or blog they’ve offered a free copy of the book to those willing to review it, and if I’m familiar with the author and the book looks good, I’ll submit my name.
In one case an author found a review I had done of a previous book and asked me to review her new one. It was kind of funny because when I reviewed her previous book, I mentioned that some of her characters were “over the top,” and she somehow found the review and responded and defended them. So I was a little surprised she asked me to review the new one.
I’ve done a few books reviews for a Christian message board I am on, but I don’t usually link to it because my last name is there and I try to keep my last name out of my blog. In that case they receive several books from publishers to be reviewed and have a list so those who have agreed to do book reviews can choose what they’d like.
I usually do say something in the course of the review about how I came to review the book if it is one of these situations.
In some ways it is a little more tense to review a book in one of these situations because I do want to be kind and encourage the author, yet, as I said, I must be honest. I try to word things kindly even if I disagree with something.
It has been a QUICK week! (or maybe I just haven’t been around and so it seeeems quick!) WOW! It is true that life is FULL of all these adjustments to one’s “normal”… and in MY case anyway… as soon as I get used to one “normal” it changes again! God just does not want us to slip into a coma of comfort! He has to keep us on our toes! I have never in my life though looked forward to “routine”… Melli’s don’t do routine well! 😉
I am sure it will be an adjustment time for you. Both of my children had left home already before they got married. My son was in the army and stationed in Virginia/DC area when he met his wife so they stayed in that area until last year when the army moved them to Texas. Our daughter was away at college when we moved to Pennsylvania so she had been out of the nest a while before her marriage.
I vote for a daybed with a trundle that you can pop up to make the bed a double. I have slept on both of the others and they are not comfortable.
I know you are excited about doing your studio. I have some ideas for mine now that I’ve moved everything. I’m wanting to make skirts for my tables. I just have the folding tables so that if I need to use the room for something else or need to take them outside to baste a quilt, they will be easy to move.
Happy Birthday,
Mama Bear
Hello Barbara.
Wow, it’s been a long long time since I visited with you…I must now say my congrats to your son’s marriage and I hope that all goes well and the two newlyweds become celebrants of a half century or more of wedded bliss!! And congrats go out to you being a mother-in-law, too!!! I know what you mean about expecting our kids to come home…but life isn’t that way. We adjust.
I had a ‘wild’ adventure in my own backyard this morning and posted about it just now…
Hope your Monday treats you well.
Okay, I need a nap after just reading about all of your busyness before and after today! *whew* and those seven hours of quiet sound soooo nice, Barbara!!
I am touched when I read about your thoughts and feelings on sending children out of the nest on their own, especially when they get married. The more I reflect on this, the more I thought about my mother’s feelings when I got married a few years ago…
Happy early birthday to you.
Sounds like you’re ready to get back into school-year routine after your exciting but busy summer.
I hope you’re getting enough rest!! You have been busy enough for three or four people! But it all sounds like “good busy” type things. Hard to adjust to changes, though.
Much peace,
Julie