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Hello, my fellow Loungers! If you’ve been wondering where I disappeared to this past month… well, pull up a comfy chair, and I’ll tell you all about it.
When I started this blog, I set a goal for myself: to publish at least one blog post per week. All went well… until the Matric prelims, Matric farewell, NSC Matric finals, and the Valedictory evening rolled around. I should have known better! After all, it’s not my first child to finish matric. (And yes… the gorgeous human in the photo above is my baby heading off to her Matric farewell!).
For all practical purposes, I became the incredibly reliable Uber, the personal chef, the resident butlerette (if that’s even a thing!) and the moral support animal… and somewhere in between, just too tired to do anything else. So, when the kids took my car on their Matric Holiday a week ago, I decided to take my own one-week holiday to “recover” after a really challenging year.
It took me a few days to shake off the guilt of wanting a breather. I tend to do that to myself: the moment I sit down or do nothing for more than a few minutes, guilt kicks in. But I forced myself to do a “shut down and reboot”. But who am I kidding? This last week was ridiculously tranquil, with only me in the house, and it was just what the doctor ordered.
I had time to sort out cupboards when I felt like it, get into a better eating routine, and, most importantly, I did NOT skip my skincare routine (I’ll share more on that in my next blog).
It was a challenging year for all the matriculants, but they made it. And WE made it! Well done to all the students and their parents. Now, I’m heading into a new season of my life: the “empty nest phase”, although it won’t be completely empty. My youngest will be staying with me while studying, but we all know she’s no longer really part of the nest. She will pursue her dream of becoming a pilot, have her own transport from January (huge thanks to her dad), and carve out her life beyond home. Because in the end, that’s what life is: a collection of seasons. Just like the predictability of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, we grow, we change, and we step into the next chapter when it’s time.
Meanwhile, this mother hen will keep on cheering on her young birds from the sidelines, while enjoying my own “FREE BIRD PHASE” to the fullest. After 16 years of being a single mom, I’m looking forward to spending more time pursuing my own dreams. My dreams didn’t die the day I became a mom, 21 years ago… they were just delayed for a little while.
I’m feeling proud, relieved, a little sad, but also happy. Quite a few emotions rolled up in one, right? But I’m back, and I’ll be posting every week again.
I can’t wait to see you in my lounge!
Much love,
Suz
The Lounge Philosopher 