Ok, ok, ok... My Blog title is admittedly on the nose. But I can't think of any other way to describe our new phase of life. I toyed around with "Empty Nester: Free as a Bird" haha... But since I'm at the very beginning stages of empty nesting, I don't know if I can live up to that claim yet. Maybe. Hopefully. But I'll stick to something more assured - I AM in my empty nest era. That is irrefutable. So I ponder to myself, "Gosh, that escalated quickly!" As the saying goes, "The days are long, but the years are short." This could not feel more true to me right now. As we make last minute, final preparations for our youngest son to leave for college in upcoming days, I feel it in my bones. It feels like just yesterday when both of my children would come to me crying after they'd scrape their knees playing sports in the driveway, needing a hug and a bandaid. Or they'd make us belly laugh with adorable things they'd say unexpected...