Please don't say it...

Empty Nest.  And now the time has come for Kevin and I to face the "empty nest" syndrome.  Sure, Mason went away to college and Morgan was still home, and we knew eventually that Morgan would go to college and that Mason would no longer live at home.  But, I never knew that Morgan would be gone long before Mason moved out of the house.  Mason is moving this weekend and well.... sigh.  I know it will be very different around here without him and Bentley (his dog, for those of you who don't know Bentley is my granddog! ha ha).  I kidded around about not knowing who I will miss more - Mason or Bentley!  I fuss about Mason's clothes being all over the floor, or how he leaves dirty dishes laying around sometimes, but I just don't know how it will feel when I don't have a kid to pick up after, or not having 10 loads of laundry to do every weekend.  I'm sure it will be nice at first.  Mason moves out of our house tomorrow (Saturday), then turns 24 on Sunday.  I know a lot of parents probably think 24 is too old to still be living at home, but we didn't mind.  Mason was busy getting an education and we are very proud of him for that.  It was important to us that his education stay important to him.  He graduated from CBC this past May and CBC is a small school.  It is not like a bigger college where you just have a lot of days and times to choose your classes.  He had to take them when they were offered.  His junior year there wasn't so bad and he was working full time, but his senior year was a little more difficult with classes and labs.  He was doing an internship with the Mayflower High School baseball team, so he had practice every day on top of everything else.  It wasn't his ideal situation but Kevin and I pretty much made him stop working so he could focus on graduating.  He did get to play baseball for a year while he was at CBC.  Oh my goodness, it was so good to see him back out on the baseball field, pitching.  I know it was a dream come true for him, although he didn't really talk about it a lot.  He did mention once, that he mainly did it for Morgan.  He thought she had more of a chance at sports than he did, he said she was so good at soccer.  I don't know why he didn't think he was as good at baseball as she was at soccer, but I know he mourned that she never got her chance to play soccer in college.  He sure did give her a hard time about soccer, though, just to get her riled up.  He would tell her it wasn't a real sport, call her a grass fairy and off they went!  She was one tough cookie when it came to her brother, but if you could see them on a good day, you knew they loved each other.  I've never known an 18-year-old that would take his little sister for a ride just to get her some pineapple whip!  As you know from the previous post, Morgan's accident happened on December 11th.  Less than a week later, on December 16th, we were trying to celebrate Mason's 20th birthday.  We got a cake and put some cars on it - for those of you who know Mason, he LOVES his cars, and we tried our best to make it his day, in the hospital cafeteria.  I know it was hard for him, knowing his little sister was upstairs fighting for her life.  He has never been one to open up and share his feelings, but he does talk about Morgan quite a bit.  We share stories and memories about her all the time.  I know he misses her, like we all do, but I have never lost a sibling so I cannot relate to how his heart hurts.  As his birthday rolls around this year, I know he wishes she was here to celebrate with him.  I know she will be looking down and wishing him the very best, moving out on his own and for his birthday.  Happy Birthday, Mason!  We love you like crazy!


Photo from Mason's birthday at ACH 2014-