Mama On The Edge (Part I)

The past year for me can be summed up as the “year of losses.”  In fact, the stress of the last six months of 2011 have left me quite frequently at a loss for breath.  Literally.   My mom keeps worrying that it’s a heart problem, but I know better.  Yet, with 2012 comes the potential for the worst loss imaginable since Middle Son J will be heading off to one of the most dangerous places in the world to scout out bombs.  I would relive last year many times over to avoid this scenario.

Not all of the “losses” we suffered were bad things. But even good changes are stressful.  Oldest Son left the frequently gray skies of Western Pennsylvania in May to join his fiance and her family in sunny California to start his new life there and help plan their wedding.  Youngest Son packed up most of his belongings to move into an apartment across the state in order to attend medical school.  These are good things, but major changes for our little nuclear family. 

Although we don’t go away on vacation every year, Big Daddy decided early in the year that we should rent a beach house since we may not all be together again for a while.  This was before we realized that Oldest Son would already be on the other side of the country–in fact, I don’t even think he realized it at the time.  But still–we knew our Bonus girls had never seen the ocean, and Middle Son J, his girlfriend Kathy, and Youngest Son were all able to come up with an available week in their insanely busy schedules to hit the North Carolina beach for some much needed rest and relaxation!