"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius." ~ Pietro Aretino What are you discovering this winter season?

I'm discovering that the empty nest syndrome isn't so bad after all. It's taken me four winters to reach this conclusion. In the summer, my youngest daughter is home from school and she's in and out a lot, so it's really not until winter when it becomes glaringly obvious that the nest is empty.

I missed the hustle-bustle for a long time. I longed for the energy in the house when the girls were around. I wanted the distractions. In the back of my mind, I dreaded the horrifying thought that maybe, just maybe, when my husband and I were sitting at the dinner table by ourselves, we would find absolutely nothing to talk about. And the funny thing was, that fear was a self-fulfilling prophecy for awhile. The more I worried about it, the more it paralyzed me until I actually couldn't find anything to talk about. I remember sitting in a restaurant one evening when Rich and I barely spoke a word to each other during the entire meal. I don't think he ever noticed, but I was painfully aware.

But this winter, as the daylight hours dwindled and the nights became longer, things felt different for some reason. After spending the day at work and stopping to see my mother, I've begun to appreciate coming home to a house that's not quite so hectic. There's a quiet comfort in knowing that things will be just as I left them. It's nice to know that if I make plans to do something, they won't be interrupted by one of my daughters wanting to use the car instead or having to make a mad dash to the store for last-minute school supplies. There's less pressure when my husband and I make our dinner choices without worrying about our daughters' food preferences or schedules. We can eat meat without wondering what our vegetarian daughter will have for dinner! I can work on projects or read uninterrupted. And if I immediately decide to put on my comfortable pajamas and a robe upon stepping through the doorway, I can do that knowing that half the world won't be traipsing into the house behind my daughters.

That's not to say that I don't miss my daughters' presence. I still do without a doubt, some times more than others. It was fun to have a full, bustling house once again over the holidays and during Aubree's birth. But I'm starting to appreciate the mellower household more. And Rich and I have even had some lively dinner conversations on occasion!