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Mother’s Day Coffee Talk 05.13.18

Greetings and happy Mother’s Day!

I realize this can be a hard day for some, so if you’re struggling today due to infertility or the loss of a mother or child or any other heartache, my prayers are with you today. I hope you can still find some joy in the day, celebrating with those who are with you.

I won’t be with my mom today, but I do plan to enjoy having my kids all here with me… for at least one more year!

Last night we had to vacate the premises so the new owners of our house could have their inspection, so my husband took us out to dinner for Mother’s Day. We’ll be cooking at home today, so it was nice to go out to dinner, especially now that everyone is on the mend and feeling better.

They had a funny card for me, and I splurged on the filet and a really nice glass of wine, and I even had dessert. We ate at Harvest — a seasonal farm-to-table restaurant chain in our area.

You’d think “farm-to-table” and “restaurant chain” would be an oxymoron, but these days locally sourced restaurants are becoming more and more mainstream, and I love it! I used to search far and wide to find one of those, and it was always a small ma and pa operation — which is still my favorite kind, but it’s nice to have so many more options now.

I used to write a lot on food topics, and while my blog has evolved into more of a fashion & beauty destination, supporting our local food economy is still a passion of mine. I always search Trip Advisor to find locally sourced restaurants when we travel, and we have found some really cool spots that way.

In other news, I’ve started planning my son’s graduation party. He doesn’t want anything big, but I’ve decided to have a small, casual afternoon open house on the Saturday of graduation weekend. After all, this celebration is partly ours too! Paul and I have worked hard to get him this far, and we’re incredibly grateful for God’s provision through it all. We’d love to share our joy with friends and family, and I think D will enjoy it when all is said and done.

I hope the weather cooperates so we can use our deck. I want to keep it really easy so I think I’ll do a hoagie platter and a lot of cold foods. That way no one has to man the grill, and people can just come and go and eat whenever. My parents will be in town to help, which will be nice.

I’m open to suggestions from anyone who has done this before. I know the kids tend to have a lot of gatherings and want to make the rounds on graduation weekend, but most of D’s friends graduated last year so he says he doesn’t have a big social agenda that day.

I cannot believe how fast this is all happening, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I did have 18+ years to prepare for it. Whoever said the new house might be a welcome distraction from the magnitude of my firstborn graduating and going off to college is a wise soul. I am truly grateful for that!

I don’t tend to be an overly emotional mom, but I’m definitely an over thinker, and this is a lot to take in. I’m realizing how being a family of five has been a large part of my identity for the past 12 years. It really dictates a lot of things in a world designed for families of four. I find myself saying things about being a family of five as I’m planning ahead, especially with the new house, and I have to keep reminding myself that we’re going to be primarily a family of four from now on!

Then I think about how things will only continue to change as my kids bring home girlfriends and boyfriends, and then spouses and kids… and yes, I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but we moms all know how fast things change. It’s as true now as it was when they were little — as soon as you get used to a new stage of parenting, it’s time to move on to the next one!

I have some friends with babies and toddlers right now, and I’m watching them come to this realization. I always tell them, it just keeps changing!

Anyway, all these thoughts have been flooding my mind during this Mother’s Day weekend.

I often post pictures of my Mother’s Days through the years for my Mother’s Day blog post. The last one I did was in 2015, so maybe after we get our picture today, I’ll update this post with the last few years. I looked back and can’t seem to find one from 2016, but I have one from last year, and I hope to get one today.

Unfortunately the weather is not being kind to us today. I don’t think we’ve ever had rainy Mother’s Day (as you can see from my Mother’s Day Through the Years pictures) but today is definitely a gloomy one.

I can’t complain, though; we’ve had a lovely week of spring weather. I’m just glad we aren’t hosting any outdoor gatherings today. In fact, it’s looking like a really good day for an afternoon nap… of course, I think any day is a good day for a nap. Haha! That is pretty much my Sunday afternoon tradition.

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough. Funny, after my lengthy life update yesterday, I didn’t think I had anything left to say for Coffee Talk today. I guess this is proof that I can always find something to talk about!

I hope you all enjoy your day, no matter what your plans hold. To all you moms out there, hug your kids, get a nap, and be sure not to wash a single dish! Happy Mother’s Day!

Join The Conversation

52 Responses

  1. may i suggest hiring help for grad party? we did a few yrs back….one bartender for adults (we served only wine and beer) one server to serve food and clear plates and serve dessert and then they both did a cleanup of sorts. lot less stress! and, it leaves time for you to enjoy your guests.

  2. What sweet pictures of you and your kids Jo-Lynne! You are savoring these moments so you will always have that gift tucked inside your heart! Our children grow up and change but trust me, life just gets better and better as they mature and often become your best friend! And once they expand your life with spouses and grand-babies, life really is grand! 
    Happy Mother’s Day!

  3. Happy Mother’s Day to you!  I guess I have a similar attitude as you. I’m not super sentimental but I think and think. My oldest is also graduating in 3 weeks and it’s hard to think of how our family will change. Of course now I’m tearing up so maybe I am sentimental. Ha!  So much of my identity has been in this little guy who is so not a little guy any more. I have my own life but I have found such joy in being his mom on a daily basis. It’s so strange to think that it will change so much soon. My son is savoring his childhood and has no rush to get out and grow up and move on so it seems we would both like to slow down time.  My daughter is a freshman in high school so we will continue to enjoy her high school years. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s nice to know we’re not alone – another natural stage of life and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. 

  4. Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks for sharing glimpses of your life with us. It really does go by quickly. Speaking as one whose daughter just had her first baby. It feels like yesterday I was planning her high school and then college graduation parties and just a few years before that when I was holding her in my arms. Today she’s a beautiful, confident, 27 year old young woman. Each season of life is precious! ❤️

    1. That’s such a great perspective, thank you! Paul is the youngest of 4, and I’ve watched my sisters-in-law go through this. It’s neat to see how each new addition to the family just enhances our whole family dynamic. I look forward to experiencing that as well. 🙂

  5. Happy Mother’s Day. My oldest (of 3) is also graduating. He’s going far. He’s going to Clemson and we are in Chester County, PA. I could cry just thinking about it, but I’m also excited. His graduation party will be in August. It’ll be graduation/goodbye. He doesn’t want a big party either. In fact, he’d be fine not having one, but like you said, it’s our celebration, too. I’ll be following along on your journey over the next few months. God Bless.

    1. Wow, that is quite a distance. Congrats to him, though! Clemson is a great school. I’m sure he’ll grow in ways you can’t imagine, being in a different part of the country. I went to college to New England, and I grew up in Virginia. I’m sure it was hard for my mom at times, but it was the best thing she ever did for me. ((Hugs)) mama!

  6. Happy Mother’s Day to you as well!! Wishing you and your family every blessing and happiness with the transitions ahead 🙂

  7. Happy Mother’s Day! I know. That whole growing up thing happens so fast. Be happy for them. You and your husband will have a little more freedom with each graduation. My youngest (of three like you) will graduate from college next year (we believe). It’s so fun to see what they do with their live’s. So far we have a writer, an artist and an almost nurse…who would have thunk. Have a beautiful day in this gloomy weather!

    1. I am definitely happy for him! 🙂 It is time for him to spread his wings a bit, and I’m excited to see how he grows thru his college experience. I’ve never worried too much about feeling lost when my kids leave home because I have my own interests and friends, and my husband and I enjoy doing things together. I’m looking forward to having more freedom to travel and go out, but I still have my little sad moments of “where did the years go…” but I get over them quickly. 🙂

  8. Happy Mother’s Day!!   I have a favor–I saw you are going to do a post on sunglasses soon.  I have a small face and have a very hard time finding smaller type sunglasses of good quality.  I am sure there are a few others out there wearing sunnies that are WAY too big for their face who might need help as I do.  Could you post a link or two if you come across any that may work for me?  I’d appreciate it!!
    Love your blog!
    Paula

  9. Thanks for the java chat today – Mothers Days are sm emotional day… first. Until we have our own do we really realize how much our Moms wasn’t to be with us…& unless family is just across town, we start tending to the needs of our own children; exactly what our moms trained us to do — and with the prospect of your oldest moving out, (mine moved out several years ago)  you suddenly feel for both yourself AND your mom. Nice to be in such good company of loving caring Moms today! Happy Mothers Day to you – thanks again! ❤️

    1. Rats – I knew better than to use my phone for a comment! I need to revise the spelling errors  wasn’t = wants   Jeesh  lol   Kick I back & I’ll correct it  🙂

  10. Happy Mothers Day!  It’s very sunny here, but already 75 at 10:30 and going up into the 90’s again.  Last night at our weekly bonfire at our neighbors, our two adopted granddaughters were sweet to wish me a happy Mother’s Day, as did the other adults.  Even though I don’t have children, that meant a lot to me.  We surprised the host and her MIL with a cake in their honor, which tickled them.  Our neighbor said that this was her first cake on Mother’s Day, so im really happy that we did that.  God bless!

  11. Happy Mother’s Day! We had a similar graduation party for my daughter – afternoon open house with family, close friends and neighbors. It felt like a community celebration because let’s face it, it was! As for prepping and selling your house so quickly, my take away is that it must be in great condition and up to date. That impresses and inspires me to do things now to our house that would make such a transition less frantic and stressful, esp decluttering and organizing. A pat on the back to you for a job well done, mama!

    1. Thanks, Melanie. Yeah, we do like to keep things pretty fresh around here, but there was still a lot to do. It feels great to have it all done now, though, and makes me wonder why we didn’t do it sooner — just for our own enjoyment! LOL!

  12. Happy Mother’s Day!  Your pictures with the kids through the years are so sweet.  They do grow up so fast.  Mine are now both in their early 30’s!   How did that happen?  Enjoy your time with them while they are still at home. I am thankful that mine are still in my life, even as adults.  Each season is a new gift and blessing.

  13. Happy Mother’s Day!   💐💖

    Remember that while this is a season of “lasts” it’s also a new beginning of “firsts”!   😊 And as you said being a mom is always about how much things change and how quickly.  But welcome each season of motherhood with joy and expectation.  

    Blessings to all mothers out there.  ❤️ 

  14. Happy Mother’s Day! We have hosted four high school graduation parties….and attended “thousands” 😀My number one piece of advice is to ask your son to tell you which friends mean the most to him and then do your best to coordinate party plans with those parents. You don’t want to schedule his party at the same time as his best friend’s celebration. 

  15. So happy to celebrate all the moms out there! I have a formal wedding to attend in July for a great niece and want to wear a dress I wore for my son’s wedding as mother of groom – is this appropriate?  Dress is beautiful but I don’t want to look like part of the wedding party – what do you think?

  16. My youngest son picked a fishing trip to the beach instead of a party like his siblings had.  But since we had family in town after his morning graduation we had a simple cookout. After a polite but brief stay he left for beach week! Only burgers, a few beers bc it was early and salad so it was easy.

  17. My advice is keep it simple. There are so many having parties that day that it might just be close friends & family. Esp if they have to travel too far to different houses. Just my 2 cents.

  18. I need help going to Alexandria in june what outfit should i bring especially to go out to eat in the evening. THANKS

  19. Happy Mother’s Day! 
    Change is always hard! When I did my daughter’s graduation parties ( high school, college, grad school… HA). I always would try to do her fav foods if possible. 
    My only free advice about all the kiddos growing up so fast is to expand your interests if need be so you have things of your “ own” to focus on some day when the nest empties! Thanks for all the continued fashion and soon decor advice too! 

  20. Graduation party tips: It was common when my daughter graduated to display some memorabilia like photos, team uniforms, awards and certificates (we had just had awards night, so had printed certificates and such of scholarships, awards, etc. that we put in dollar store frames for the party) and that gives people something to look at and talk about without badgering your son with lots of questions. If you son is planning to go to college and has already decided on a school, you could even display something with the college logo on it, again letting people know what’s going on without making your son feel like he has to ‘give a speech.’ We also got one of those photo frames with the extra wide matting for people to sign (you often see these at weddings) and put the graduation announcement in as the photo. It was fun (and helpful) to look at later because there were guests there I barely had time to say hello to, so it was a good reminder for us to thank them in person for coming to the party if we ran in to them later. We did a dessert buffet, so nobody had to serve anything, and had bowls of chips, pretzels, etc. around the party space for our late evening party. Since there had already been 11 other parties that day, we knew we wouldn’t have to serve a full meal 🙂

  21. We also had a graduation open house (come and go) party for both kids. I scanned photos of all ages (newborn to current) then made a slideshow that we hooked up to our tv. It ran continuously throughout the party and the guests really enjoyed seeing the pictures. Congrats to your family!

  22. Loved reading this today! 
    Life definitely changes as the kids get older. Mine are 25, 21 and 15. And it definitely comes with very different challenges than when they are young. But somehow we adjust to the changes. And it really does become fun to have adult kids! 

  23. Ha Ha……You are sooo funny. I love reading your coffee talks.  I wanted to comment after each thing you said but now with dementia, I can’t remember what to comment on. 🙂 LOL  First, we had almost 90 degrees in NW Oregon today for Mother’s Day, so it was wonderful.  2nd…..you deserve reflecting today on how things have been and how a family of 5 soon will be 4. I had that same thing.  My first born is 4 1/2 yrs. older than my 2nd and then my 3rd is 3 1/2 yrs. younger than my 2nd, so it gave me time to adjust before another one left the house but it never gets easy. I remember when I dropped my son….the 3rd off at college, I told my husband I’m so glad I never have to do that again.  Now next month, he’s getting married. Time goes so fast. All my kids are done with college, in their careers and married once he is in June.  I love all the new transitions, but you are right, your family of 5 to 4 will soon be adding 3 more on then grandkids. I’m so ready for those babies. 🙂  I’m glad you have the new home distraction and summer to help you transition.  Your son being close will help too.  As for your graduation party, you have a good idea.  I had a open house with all 3 and with people coming and going, the food you are thinking of will be good great.  People around here go from house to house graduation day, so you don’t need to feed them big meals, lots of finger food or salads or like subs like you said is great.  Pasta salad and big fruit ones work great.  Enjoy it all.   

    1. It’s crazy to think about weddings and grandkids, but I’ve watched my friends and family members go through it, and it’s neat to see the families grow with each addition. The more, the merrier!

  24. Our grad parties have been just for the kids and their friends.   We had different menus for each of our four.  Even though the first two had more substantial buffets, the last two were our family’s faves.  Number three chose catering from Moe’s (a Southwest Grill food chain if you don’t have one) and ended up with a taco/nacho/salad bar….big hit with his friends. Our last grad chose Chick-fil-a catering (since we don’t have one in western NY, it’s a major treat for us).  Our big kids drove to Erie PA to pick up the order and his guests were ecstatic.

    Best advice…have different things to do set up around the yard.  Even with a pool, we had Kan-Jam, volleyball, tetherball, kickball, slip and slide, packs of cards on tables, fun candy everywhere.  Tossed a few board games out…(we’re nerdy, so trivia and chess are always popular here).  We bought funky light up glasses for one party and the kids had a lot of fun with them when the sun went down.  They go to so many parties that they get a little burnt out chatting.  Each of our kids wanted bounce houses (never too old at our house), and there are other fun rental things available as well.

    1. It’s so interesting to hear how different families do things! This will be a much more low-key affair. 🙂 It’s mainly for families we are close to. I don’t expect a lot of kids to stop by, and I don’t think David will have a lot of parties to attend either… but I may be surprised! He has a very small group of friends, and most graduated last year or the year before. I like the idea of setting things around — games and things like that to keep people occupied. The Chick-fila idea is good too — it isn’t a novelty for us, we have several and eat there often, but I have been to a lot of gatherings lately where they have the nuggets out as an option, and they are always popular.

      1. Low key is great!  

        The “why” on our “kid-parties” is that all four of ours are each three grades apart.  So between First Communions, confirmation, high school, college, and masters…we felt all of our celebrations would be too many even for close fam and friends.  So we pick and choose what we invite adults to, and leave the high schoolers (supervised) to their own before they go on to different destinations.  🙂

  25. Happy (late!) Mother’s Day! You’ve gotten some great graduation party tips. We’ve done two (one more to go in a few years). The most recent was for my middle child just this past weekend. He said he didn’t really care about having a party but like many have said, this was also about us and the accomplishment it is for all of us. In the end, he had a terrific time and I think he was glad we pushed for a party. Both times one of my favorite things has been having a slideshow on repeat for the guests to see how the graduate has changed over the years. I did about 40 photos beginning with baby years and ending with senior pics. We didn’t have any sound and just kept it running on the tv in the main room of the party. That way people could look at it whenever it was convenient for them. Three years ago we used a dvd to play it but this time we have a smart tv and were able to just plug in a thumb drive with the photos and tell it to play. So easy but really fun for everyone!

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