Shouting Into the Wind

To my daughter and my “extra daughters,”

The dust will soon be kicked up behind your cars as you zoom out of the driveway, down the road and on your way.  Your mamas will be standing there, shouting out to you the final tidbits of motherly advice we could think to share, in a last-ditch effort to keep our most precious possession safe from the world outside.
But, we know you will not hear us because your music will be way too loud and you will be focused on the road ahead, as you should be. But, still, there in your rear view mirror, will be your mama, shouting anyway and cheering you on as you blaze your new trails.

Many of you girls I have known since preschool. You have sat at my table, slept under my roof, carpooled, vacationed and shared your young life with me.  It is a bittersweet time for us mamas, sending our babies out of the nest into the big, wide world. So, y’all bear with me here, as I needed a project to distract me from the reality that I am about to become an empty-nester.  I am running out of time to say all those things I feel compelled to say. It seemed fitting to put them in writing, lest you all forget what we were trying to tell you while you were distracted with Snapchat and then, just like that….driving away from home. We don’t want you coming back twenty-five years from now saying your mama never told you that. After all, we were out there in the driveway before God and our neighbors, shouting into the wind.

I am writing to you the things I probably needed to read myself at your age.  Obviously, I have lived a little.  It has not been perfect or without mistakes. I have had successes and failures, regrets and delights. There have been bumps and scrapes, as well as days of great joy. With that life experience under my belt, I have garnered some prudent advice along the way to share with you, as well as my 18-year-old-self that really needed it. Maybe I will re-learn something too, in the process… lessons that my own mama once shouted into the wind.

This blog is a send-off, a take-away party favor for each of you as a reminder of those happy times we all shared.  It’s many lessons you already learned, but may not remember, due to said distractions. It’s the recipes you told me you loved, so I hope you meant it because now I have created this page to record them here for you. Which means, I expect you to use them to gather people together and share them at your own tables and to cook them for me when I get old. Gather together and share laughter, happy times, your dreams, sorrows and struggles. It doesn’t matter what you cook or serve.  It matters that you gather and share and love one another through it all.

It’s also a reminder of a special place called HOME that you can take with you wherever you go in life.  When you are feeling homesick and blue, remember that there are an equal number of mamas back at home feeling the same way, licking our wounds and trying to feel strong in the face of our new lives without you here. But, we are bolstered by the fact that you are out there pursuing your dreams and living the life that God has planned for you, in spite of how much we miss you.  Just always remember whose child you are, where you came from, how much you are loved and that there is always someone back home praying and cheering you on. God bless you on this exciting journey ahead.

Love You!

Mrs. Allison