Meltdown

Man, this empty nest business is kicking my trash!  I hate it!  I had a little meltdown this morning before church.  I made the mistake of strolling down memory lane for a little bit and the floodgates opened up.  Sundays used to be my very favorite day.  I had my whole brood all to myself.  No games, no school, no TV, nothing to take us away from each other.  We would have the funnest family nights playing games and reading stories and eating treats.  I loved filling up a whole bench at church.  I loved having a full table for dinner.  I loved watching my kids love each other.  I couldn't envision it ever being any different.  And now it is and I hate it.  My house is as quiet as a tomb, my bench at church can now fit two other families besides mine, my table is only half full and my kids are nowhere near each other and have grown up and apart.  I really do want them to experience with their own families what I got to experience with them, I just don't want to be left behind and I know I need to be.  I've decided that menopause is just a yucky coincidence that just happens to come right about the time your children leave.  I can handle menopause just fine, it's the other change that's knocking me out.