Always, Family

Pie baking party. 2023

I miss my family.

Gosh, I miss them so much.

Being a single mom for most of my kids’ lives, I didn’t realize how much my whole internal world relied on their presence—their energy, their noise, their friends, their stories, their chaos, their warmth.

I thought I had a solid sense of self outside of motherhood because I was always so busy, always juggling, always handling what needed to be handled.

But this year taught me something different:

my sense of self was strong—just not as cohesive as I once believed.

Navigating life without my girls at home has been harder than I expected.

Even as I keep growing, rebuilding, discovering new ways of being…

I miss them.

I miss them.

So today, I’m extra excited to be spending the afternoon cleaning and packing for a trip down south to spend a whole week with all of my kids. My family.

Emily wants to help me cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Desiree wants conveyor-belt sushi and has texted me five times already about whether I’ve bought the Wicked: For Good tickets yet.

And Jack is just along for the ride. Maybe some shopping… just not on Black Friday.

(We learned our lesson last year when we never made it past the parking lot.)

And while I miss the old Thanksgiving traditions from when everyone lived at home—pie-baking parties, giant dinners,

a house full of friends and family—

I’m grateful for this new chapter too.

Grateful that my children still choose my table, my stories, my presence.

Grateful that even as life rearranges itself, the love remains untouched.

Grateful that family can evolve and still carry the unmistakable warmth of home.

I love my sweet babies.