TheBanyanTree: So this is life after children??

[NancyIee at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/21/03 4:11:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
SMACK at berkshirecc.edu writes:

<< So this is life after children??  >>

I felt this way also, that my life went on as after a funeral of the "me" I 
used to be.  Then it occurred to me upon pondering, that this is whatg 
motherhood is; if one has done it well, or fairly so,  the job becomes obsolete.  
Then, after a time of rediscovering just who the REAL ME is, I meld into the role 
of grandmother.

The roles of wife and mother are just that. They do not define who we are, 
but the job we undertake. Beneath the Mrs. and the "mom" we are still individual 
persons, with interests, faults, talents, goals, fantasies, failures and 
achievements.  After the kids means we have the time to pursue to examine, to 
explore, and do whatever we want to do.

I, for one, took classes, got involved in local politics, started reading all 
those books I never had time to read before, went back to painting and 
writing and made it an enjoyable job rather than a time filler between naps and 
snacks.

I now love my time.  My kids have become my best friends, and we enjoy true 
adult times together. I have my own growth to anticipate, new discoveries, new 
travels and goals. I can be a teen ager again, go dancing, stay out late, or 
sleep until ten if I've a mind.

It's like a rebirth of sorts, and I intend to make the most of it. Remember 
when we might say, "I wish I was young again, knowing what I know now?"  Well, 
all you empty-nesters, you're young again, with the freedom of adolescence, 
yet the maturity to do it better this time around.

Go, have a blast.

NancyLee