TheBanyanTree: So this is life after children??

[Sharon Mack]

So this is life after children??  

All those years doing it on my own*.striving, sacrificing, working two and three jobs to make ends not meet, driving kids to school, to games, to play, to friends, to practice and walking them to school when the car broke down and they were too small or too young to go on their own.  Then there was cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the teaching, the disciplining, the noise. We can't forget the crying (them and me), the arguments, the rebellion, the fear, the prayers.

And now?  Nothing*the "not " having to do, the "not" having to go, the one job that more than meets the need.  I don't have to drive anywhere*the gas tank lasts me two full weeks.  No football games, no budding track stars and when the car breaks down, I can afford to fix it.  No small hands tucked in mine walking in the rain under the umbrella counting the worms that lay in the road as we walk hurriedly to school.  No one to cook for and when I clean*.it stays that way until the dust resettles. The laundry is done in a couple of hours in a small apartment size washer and dryer.  And who is there to receive the discipline or the wisdom that has gathered in my mind and in my soul?  And, oh, the bitter, awful silence.  I remember the tears (theirs and mine), the arguments, the rebellion and, yes, even the fears.  I still do the prayers, though, as they launch into their own lives with their own families far away from me, the miles separating us physically and emotionally.

I used to think that this is what I wanted.  I couldn't wait for it all to be done.  I wanted peace and quiet*..I guess God answered my prayer.  What is it they used to say*be careful what you pray for*you just might get it!?

Sharon A. Mack