The Seasons of Change

Summer is upon us. I usually cry on the last day of school. There is something about cleaning out my kid’s locker of smelly gym clothes and stale food. I love looking over the books that were read and the binders filled with history notes that may or may not be useful in the future. The high school locker sort of sums up the year. It forces me to reflect on the year gone by. How did my son get to be six feet tall? I swear he was shorter than me on that “first day” of school photograph. Wasn’t it just Christmas break? Where did those months go?

But this year I didn’t cry. I didn’t even go to school on the last day! My son drives now and his car can smell of dirty gym clothes. In fact, there is now only one “Cohen” locker at school. My three girls are gone….two away at college and my oldest has graduated and is getting a feel for the real “working world.”

Maybe the tears are still stuck in my throat…or maybe I have decided that moving on is indeed a good thing. For the first time I am looking at my own reflection of accomplishments this school year….not just those of my children. I think as mothers it is often easy to measure our own success by the success of our children. But I would challenge you to make a list (you know I love a list) of all the things you have managed, orchestrated and organized this August to August calendar year.

What can I say…this 50^th birthday year has really left its mark on me. Perhaps it is the empty nest, or losing my mother, or learning to be alone that has forced me to spin around and face forward. I am truly excited about the possibilities and the journey ahead.

I have decided to tuck away my worn out UGG slippers and take some real and meaningful steps. I love writing and journalism is my background.  While I don’t see myself sitting behind a news anchor desk, I also know the value of communicating. So, while I have not been “blogging” these past two months I have been busy working on a concept called “The Stuff of Life.” I think it speaks to so many of us 50-year-old women who wrestle with the same issues and questions. What is next? Where do we go from here now that our children are away from home? How do we make change happen for ourselves? I think if we are living, than hopefully we are still growing and learning every day. Being 50 is hardly being old!

I have begun charting this new chapter here on The Stuff of Life blog.

I will continue to post my blogs, share my story, and encourage all of your feedback, wisdom and thoughts about our next steps….and what makes up the stuff of life!

It is simply never too late to re-invent and re-evaluate our lives as we cherish the moments and the memories that got us this far. Happy first days of summer….