January 12, 2015

Gobsmacked, plus GRAND Social No. 139 link party for grandparents

January 12, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Gobsmacked

On Saturday, I was smacked in the face unexpectedly with the realization that in exactly six months, my baby, my youngest daughter, my little Andie who makes me laugh so hard will be thirty years old.

mom and adult daughter

Well, not exactly six months, as Andrea will celebrate the milestone birthday...

December 23, 2014

Christmas and how the empty nest gets harder after college

December 23, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

I used to be one of those moms whose child — or children, plural — recently left for college. You know... the moms walking around with a dazed, how-the-heck-did-this-happen-so-fast look in their eyes, virtually visible cracks in their hearts as they miss the once little ones who have flown their nest. They're the moms who live for holiday breaks, spring breaks, summer breaks, for that's when their loved ones return home, back to the safety of the nest where mom can hold each one in her arms and savor the sweet scents and sounds of her babies all around.

family christmas stockings

I was one of those moms. That first year my daughters were scattered afar for schooling and such was rough. It got easier, though, as it does for all moms (and dads) whose kiddos have gone off for enrichment and enlightenment on the road to becoming full-fledged adults. I found new...

December 04, 2014

Mom's magazines

December 04, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

Before I was a grandmother of three grandsons, before I was a mother to three daughters, I was a daughter of one single mother. My mom had custody of four or more of her seven kids — myself and my four sisters and two brothers — at various times, depending on who might be staying with Dad, from my twelfth year up until I left home at 17.

family circle magazine From Pinterest: http://bit.ly/11VZkAKWith so many kids to care for, the rare treats Mom allowed herself were the Family Circle and Woman's Day magazines she'd pick up when stretching thin as can be the dollars at the grocery store. Back then, the...