Holiday Hangover

The recycling bin is full, the beds are stripped. I have a mountain of towels to launder. Welcome to the day after a holiday weekend with a house full of kids and family!

We had a truly great weekend. Family, fun, food, games, walks, yoga, even a visiting dog as we are missing our diva dog who died in August.  We really crammed a lot into those few days. And now it’s the morning after. The house is quiet which is both nice and sad.

It’s nice to be done with the list making, shopping and cooking that it took to get ready for the holiday weekend when we went from a house of 3 to a house of 9. It’s nice to have a quiet mind with nothing much on the to do list for today. It’s nice having some leftovers in the fridge so I don’t have to cook at all today (and maybe even tomorrow).

Then the sadness comes because I miss them. I miss my sister and her kids. I wished we lived closer. I miss my kids and being part of their every day life and I miss them being part of mine. My youngest is a senior in college with dreams of heading to California after graduation. My middle moved across the country in August.

It’s strange that you spend 20 or so years totally focused on a human being and then you become a spectator in their life. “A mother’s job is to teach her children not to need her anymore. The hardest part of that job is accepting success.” This quote is so true. (And if you know where it originated from please let me know so I can attribute it to the right person.)

As I moved through the day putting away the decorations, loading the washing machine, listening to the quiet – the anxious thoughts crept in. Did I spend enough time with each of them? Did we have good, quality conversations or was I distracted with cooking and cleaning and planning the perfect weekend? Do they like coming home or is it just something on their to do list? Will they always like coming back here?

As I passed by the clean entry way I felt it again. Most of the weekend that corner was crowded with shoes, bags, stuff. It’s nice that my house is neat and yet sad that there is so little action here.

Can you relate? How do you handle a Holiday Hangover? I hope you had a good weekend with some people you love!