A Day of Notes...

I come from a long line of letter writers and one of my most treasured gifts from my Grams is her Bible, which is complete with notes from her sisters tucked into nearly every other page. Grams had such a robust exchange with those she loved and to this day I'm sure that's why I feel there's just something about a handwritten note... 

My Grams and her sisters loved to write to one another. They never let the miles separate them and that was especially true of my great aunt Ruth Mary, who lived in California for many years, and my great aunt Connie, who lived in Greece long before International calling plans were unlimited. 




Imagine my delight when I pulled this out of the mailbox this afternoon. My Aunt Connie is 91 and she is the sharpest, most well educated, independent lady I know. And look at that penmanship! 

I love so many things about her but I adore this the most--now she writes to me. #GramsBestFriend #Tradition

Just A Note...

I dragged my feet about cleaning the kiddos' room after winter break. I don’t mind seeing the bed unmade. It reminds me there was life in his room and I can’t wait until he returns to mess it up all over again this summer. So I waited a couple of days of tidy up.

When I finally braved it, I found this notecard sitting neatly tented on the kiddos’ dresser. At first I thought it was a mistake. I’m always on him to do thank you cards and this Christmas was no exception. Had he left one behind by accident? Yes. And no. The card he left behind was for me and it wasn’t by accident. 

This card is validation that we’ve come through a major transition intact. This card is validation that turning our lives upside down at the worst possible time hasn’t ruined our kiddo. It’s a glimpse into my son’s heart, a view of the past five crazy months from his perspective, and it's exactly what I needed to hear.  #OhSoGrateful  #BuehlerLife

Catch and Release

If you look closely among the everyday items littering our mudroom, you’ll see a pair of well-worn white Vans. They belong to the kiddo and they’ve occupied this house since the Friday after Christmas. For two glorious weeks these walls have been filled with good jokes, junk food, bad YouTube shows and old movies. There have been card games and football games, beat the alarm clock games and Monopoly games. There have been good conversations, funny stories, hard conversations, and laughter and tears and quiet. There was even a night when the kiddo fell asleep on the couch and ended up sharing the dog blanket with the girls. So much for 800 count Egyptian cotton.  It’s just one more way I know he truly is a college kid.

I’ve taken to calling this season catch and release parenting. If we’re lucky enough to catch our son for a few minutes (or a few hours or a few days), to hear us talk you’d think we’d won the lottery because we feel like we have.  But we also know we have to release him. 

Tomorrow is that day.  Slightly before dawn I have to say “until next time” and let my precious boy fly back to his hometown, the city he loves full of his people, his girl, and his school.  My only solace the fact that my mom will pick him up from the airport. She gives great hugs and always has a smile for those she loves.  While she isn’t my stand in, I’m comforted knowing when I can’t be with him, she most often can.

This will be the longest stretch we’ve been apart, from tomorrow until sometime in early March when I visit him on his turf and snag another hug.  Between now and then we’ll rely on FaceTime and phone calls and texting but trust me when I say it won’t be the same as having his shoes in my mudroom.  #BuehlerLife #LastEveOfWinterBreak

Happy, Happy New Year!

Goofy travel buddies (somewhere in middle Tennessee).

I was tempted to title this post Happy Holidays given I didn’t touch base in December but you know, I can’t really say that with a full heart.  Our holidays were good, but they were not without issue.  At the end of our week in Indy we tallied visiting a family member in the hospital, Christmas morning in a hotel, and more clock watching and road burn than I can remember in last past 16 years.  Needless to say, on the 11+ hour ride home to Atlanta in heavier than usual holiday traffic, the boys and I had a chance to replay the week as we do every year.  We always talk about what went right (a lot of things, and for that I’m extremely grateful), what went wrong (a few things), and what we’ll change next year (the list grows) and our time together in the car lead to some insightful and spirited discussion.

The Kiddo and the Cutie Bug at New Years Eve b'fast.

Instead I’ve gone with Happy, Happy New Year because that’s what we’re enjoying with our son and his sweet girlfriend; all of us back home here in Atlanta, creating new traditions and embracing our new normal.  I can honestly say it’s been a happy, happy new year and as such, I’ve warned the kids I’m not letting them return to Indy when break is over.  It’s been wonderful having them back under our roof and I can’t begin to imagine the quiet that will take their place in a few short days.  Surely stock in Kleenex will be a wise investment decision for us in 2020.

I hope you had an amazing holiday season with those you love and that your start to 2020 is off with a bang.  Here’s wishing us all a very happy, happy new year!