<p>Heartcross! I got a huge box of really dark chocolates. I've died & gone to heaven. I even took a photo of older son loading the dishwasher so I could send it to my Mid who won't believe it unless he sees it. LOL</p>
<p>MOT & Bill, remember when ya sat everyday & marked off another day down till you got to see your kid again beginning the day after you dropped them off? Boy, that was hard. We do miss 'em really bad most days especially on mother's day....</p>
<p>Hope everyone has had a wonderful Mom's Day!!</p>
<p>I felt so happy and so sad at the same time... he gave me a wonderful gift... actually 2 gifts! Going to USNA and a wonderful frangrance gift from Pottery Barn (I'll miss him every time I smell Honeysuckle)!</p>
<p>Hope every wonderful Mom on this site has a fabulous Mother's Day!!!</p>
<p>^ ^ ^ ^ Ahhhh gypsycl.... Your first sentence put a little crack in my heart. Its ok. I know all of you new parents are counting up all the "last" times on here but theres a light at the end of the tunnel! You're gonna have so many really good "first" coming up that you won't be able to contain yourself. I am sending you a big virtual hug. I think it would be a good idea to go get your tear ducts surgically removed now. LOL</p>
<p>A year ago we might have thought the same thing(last Mothers Day) but yesterday my son and his mom were together along with many other moms and kids at our crew regatta. The moms were given flowers by the girl's team and we had a great time. So never say never. Good luck and enjoy the ride.</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words and the virtual hug! Much needed and appreciated and somewhere in my head I DO know that there are so many beautiful FIRSTS yet to come!</p>
<p>Dear Mom and Dad:
The journey of a lifetime will begin in a few short weeks for all your sons and daughters. They have so much to be proud of, and if you are anything like me, your heart swells with pride!
I remember feeling a roller coaster of emotions the weeks before reporting day (I had to carry tissues everywhere I'd go...you never knew when that patriotic song would play, or you'd remember a dear past memory).
The day WILL come when you stand before the gates at the West Point, the Naval, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marine Academies and feel both sadness and joy.<br>
As you drive or fly home, please have a plan for YOURSELF :)
We planned a short vacation to rest and relax and take it all in.<br>
The first weeks will be strange. With our world being so instantly connected to one another it will be difficult not being able to pick up the phone and say good night, or shoot off that quick email or IM them. Your home will get a little less hectic, even quiet. You'll stand at their bedroom door and wonder where the years have gone.<br>
Believe me, the post office and your mailperson WILL know who you are! They love to hear how your son/daughter is doing.<br>
There will be days of joy when you receive that "thin" letter just saying " I love you" and disappointing times when the box is empty.
You'll stand by the phone and carry that cell phone waiting for that first call in early July and count the days until Parent's Weekend.
Rest assured that they will be taken care of and a new, confident adult will emerge in the months that follow reporting day.
You have done your job well! Let the party begin :)</p>
<p>Thank you cadetmom. Your words are sweet and kind. I wanted to share part of an article in the June 2006 "REAL SIMPLE" magazine.<br>
The article is about life lessons. </p>
<pre><code>" Mother, Once Removed - Can the fierce, protective, primal love of a mother ever change? It has for Roxana Robinson, and the results is pure joy.
</code></pre>
<p>.......They will still wake you up, years later, with a dark stab of guilt; there are things for which you will never forgive yourself. Because long afterward (forever, in fact), you will continue to carry your child as you did in the months before her birth. She is still there, just under your beating heart, a constant beloved presence, a burden and a delight."</p>
<p>This is only a small segment of the article authored by Roxana Robinson.</p>
<p>Graduation was last night... So that's the end of that! No more High School. Woke up teary. This is just way too emotional for me! I don't like it! Does it ever get out of your system?? How can you be so thrilled, ecstatic & happy, and yet feel like sighing all the time? It makes no sense! </p>
<p>I guess I'm going to have to go on the Merlot & chocolate diet full-time now! (Those lemon squares we brought home from a grad party over the w-end were pretty helpful - I'll supplement w/ those!). On the other hand, who feels like eating?</p>
<p>Sigh... Yay! Sigh... Hooray! (Gotta end on a positive note!). </p>
<p>Just want all y'all to know that I'm thiking of you as you go thru graduation & everything too! Hope it's all JOYFUL!!</p>
<p>bz2010, I'm sorry you had to join the chocolate & merlot club. Its ok. Just cheer & sip then chase it down with the chocolate. All will be well. I've been doing it for almost a year now & I've only gained 15 lbs. LOL Congrats on your Grad!! </p>
<p>No snickers for you beer man. Stick with your cheese, eggs & meat. :)</p>
<p>Hey, I've lost over 200 lbs on both those diets! (well, ok, so in between I gained back about 180. BUT over 10 years I'm still down 20!) Careful Zaph -- that Atkins can be dangerous no matter what that (now dead) guy says.</p>
<p>I lost 80 lbs in the past couple years. The problem is that it was the same 5 lbs over and over again. Now I have to cook all those good foods for my cadet who comes home on Saturday. Then when I'm not cooking I'll have to go to her favorite restaurants (including that Brazilian steakhouse with unlimited meat - Zaphod would love it). Then 3 weeks later I'll be depressed after she leaves for Buckner so I'll need to be on the merlot and chocolate diet again. Sooner or later I'll have to gear up for graduation stress then the real worrying can begin. I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to tackle that diet again.</p>
<p>We are getting off the original topic but I have to add my two cents. I recommend Weight Watchers. I joined about 4 years ago and I am maintaining a 50 pound weight loss. It is the only thing I have ever been able to do long term because no foods are off limits. I get to pick what I eat I just have to watch the portion size. My son graduates high school on June 9th -- we will see if I can keep on target during the next few weeks of emotional ups and downs! (Good thing I don't like merlot, unfortunately I do love chocolate.) :D</p>
<p>WAMom, truly, the merlot & chocolate diet started last year as a joke when I discovered what empty nesting was & I was all over these boards complaining about my wee broken heart. I lost about 320 lbs. worth of two boys almost at the same time. Hence me trying to gain it back I think.... Here's the hard part I've found.... Trying to re-arrange & cook for just two people without the laziness settling in. Its so easy to have the hubby bring home a burger after work. BAD habit! I'm doing a bit better these days by dragging out some of my favorite cook books and uncovering the grill more often. As my mother says: "People can eat well. It just takes thought." So my hats off to you guys who have shed the lbs. </p>