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Name some things you appreciate MUCH more or notice now

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notice things
4K views 42 replies 38 participants last post by  Edna_E 
#1 ·
Now that we're older/emptynesters/have done some living........
 
#5 ·
Walks with my husband. No child running back and forth yelling about something usually when are we gonna go.
Making what I want for supper! No one say ewww I don't like that.
Early morning unrushed coffee.

Laurie in Bradenton
 
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#6 ·
Children playing & screaming...I even appreciate the fighting...brings back memories and makes me smile. I smile even bigger when the child throwing the temper tantrum belongs to someone who threw temper tantrums when they were little.

Flowers...I never appreciated them when I was younger, now I love them.

Sounds...of nature...the tree frogs at night, the birds in the morning, the sound of the loons at dusk.

Looking at my daughter and seeing myself at her age...her reaction when she was looking through photos that included me at her age and she said (in a totally shocked voice), "Oh my God I do look like you!!!"...told her I didn't know if I should be offended or not that she was so shocked :D! She apparently didn't realize until that point that I was her age once and didn't always look...well...older :D!
 
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#8 ·
I enjoy spending more alone time with DH. I think we took each other for granted while the boys were little and needed us more. Now that they are grown/growing up, we are able to spend more time together - just the two of us.
 
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#9 ·
Arrgghh. I've tried to answer you responses (to each response) on this thread TWICE now, and been thrown out (a whole page!). Not by FV, by my lovely wandering cursor that like to go up and X me out of everything! It's more than wander--it likes to hop around like a flea, and does it before I even see it. Grrrr.

Well--in summary (lol)....I agree with all you posted and more!

I have really gotten back in touch with nature...especially up here at the cabin. Love the birds singing at night, I used to be so busy and stressed, I didn't even notice stuff like that.

I LOVE staying home and reading or knitting, and used to have to run run run all the time to the kids' stuff--, school activities......I didn it for my kids and gladly.....but soooo glad to relax now.

The morning coffee! OMG, I had one sip before starting breakfast, breaking up fights, going up and down stiars several times to get teen boys up, and again to help dh find that one pair of pants that were hanging RIGHT THERE! LOL! Now he usually sleeps past when I wake, and I have a couple of hours ALL.....TO......MYSELF. :coffee:

I love to hear kids too now...I don't have to break up the fights, feed them, raise them, make good citizens out of them, and send them to college. My new neighbor (at home) is SOO worried that her two boys (same as I had) are making too much noise or bothering me. I say NOOOO, you should have heard it here about 10 years ago! I LOVE to hear her boys playing, it takes me back to when mine were little.....

I appreciate--quiet, being alone, being with dh, coffee in peace, eating what I want when I want, sleeping in, slowing down, staying away from people (I am not antisocial, but I hate all of the static that being around people puts in my head.), adoring kids that aren't mine, uninterrupted conversations with dh, nature, birds singing, the breeze blowing, the ANTICIPATION of grandchildren--and then being able to hand them back to my kids when we're done 'playing'. (I get the play, YOU get the work, got it? )
 
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#10 ·
I really love the time I have with my dh, the little trips we can take with no regard to the school year schedule, how clean my house stays after I clean it (lol), so little laundry, so little cooking compared to days gone by and eating/cooking what we want (or just having a bowl of cereal). I really love to drink coffee on the deck and listen to the birds in the mornings, have a drink out there in the evening and listen to the birds.....so much I notice that I didn't have time to notice before.....Life is sooooo good as an empty nester. For about the first year I didn't know if I'd survive it but now it's total bliss. (and yes, I look forward to grandchildren but this time is perfect right now)
 
#11 ·
Well I'm not quite an empty nester yet.....still have our youngest at home (he's 14). I will be honest and say I appreciate the time I get with my very busy and very grown up dd, she is almost 21, never home and infact moving out today! I loved her to death while she was here but now that she is leaving and moving on and growing up I truly do appreciate the time I get with her!!
I appreciate the time dh and I get to spend together, even with a teenager in the house we still can get away for breakfast or go for a walk alone!!
 
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#12 ·
I appreciate good service... the kind waitress,the funny grocery checker, the paper boy who places the paper by my door. Those little things they do that stand out. I love going into the bathroom, shutting the door, and having peace. No one banging on the door yelling"Mommmmmmm!!"The morning coffee , no making cookies at 10pm cuz someone forgot they had to bring them the next day,gardening, spur of the moment trips and dinner parties.I appreciate the ruckus and flurry of the grandkids, and the quiet afterwards.I appreciate toilet paper lasting longer.
 
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#14 ·
I love, love, love the free time with dh and our nice quiet dinners. Not having to set the table for dinner...we eat at the island...and groceries last forever! Simpler meals are a huge bonus! Not having to be somewhere or pick up kids from activities.
Taking off on weekends....
 
#15 ·
Although I like being able to read a book a day (yes, I do it, lol) and not have to worry about what else I should be doing, I miss all the child rearing years.

I absolutely loved all the noise and confusion and demands on me and if I could, I'd have 3 or 4 more children right now.:cutie: Mommyhood went by way to fast for me and I'd love to have it all back. I think mostly it's because I've not filled my life with other interests and I don't have any connections with children now. Not a grandma and neices and nephews are too far away.

Just my thoughts....:bolt:
 
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#16 ·
I love the quiet time and sitting on the deck with my hubby eating breakfast, drinking coffee and reading the papers.
 
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#18 ·
I'm not retired and I do not have children. I have had a couple of rough years losing both parents within 8 months of each other. I do notice things more now.

I like to watch the tv shows my Mother and I used to watch when I was taking care of her before she died. I can just hear some of the comments she would make.

I love digging through her old recipies and finding things in her handwriting. I'm making other members of my family scrapbooks for Christmas and I am including some of these things.

I love looking at my Dad's coffee cup collection and his hat collection. He had some really cool ones.

I love how I learned to treat everyone the same regardless of who they are from my Dad. I love how I learned to be a better woman who expects more from myself and my relationships from my Mom.
 
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#20 ·
Though I never had kids of my own, my friends call me "earthmama." I'm sure you know, or are, the type... always there to help. Now I'm helping MY mama. Trying to make her golden years as bright as a bunch of Van Gogh's sunflowers. The unexpected result is how much I'm getting out of it.

We spend our time together dealing with our day to day lives. We've gone to a largely raw diet. Lots of fresh organic fruits and veggies. I do the shopping and the ordering (we've got a great guy who delivers local grown organics to the door), she handles the prep, and then I deal with the compost. For those times we want something different, I make soups and chilis and stews and casseroles and pestos and she... makes cookies. A fair trade I think. She loads the dishwasher, I handle the laundry. It's a great system.

We're both home bodies, both night owls, both love BBC period pieces, both into various but different artistic endeavors. She tats, really tats... made a whole tablecloth once. Whereas I dabble. Tatting, Russian punch needle, lucet, kumihimo, toothbrush rug making, beading, temari, and an as of yet unrealized desire to make mosaics. And I write... mostly poetry at the moment. Friends come to call and we occasionally go to visit. We both love puzzles, murder mysteries, happy endings, kitties and time to ourselves. I call it extreme symbiosis.

It's all helped me to understand something that was always inside of me. I don't want a big, bold, bombastic life. I never had the desire to be famous, though I've been told that I had the personality for it often enough. That's just not for me. I want a small life. I want to putter. I want to make things. I want to spend time with those that I love. I want... what I've got.

Lucky me.
 
#21 ·
I have to say that since we are retired now that we enjoy the peace and quiet of the household and being able to talk without interruptions. I love seeing the grandchildren but I also love sending them home too. I love the sounds of nature and watching my birds at the birdfeeder in the evening. I also like to watch my husband working on something that he is really into it with thought. I also enjoy my veggie garden and all of the goodies that it produces. Retirement is great!

Monner
 
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#22 ·
What I enjoy now...

What I enjoy now is peace, quiet, not having kids running around screaming at the top of their lungs (not that I didn't enjoy it when they were little, I did, but now it just hurts my ears) being able to go when I want to and not having to take school schedules or kids schedules into account.

Being an empty nester totally ROCKS!!!

Kathye
 
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#24 ·
I get to take "rides" with DH on Sundays-and the only time we have to make potty stops are when his "elderly" bladder decides to kick in..at least I don't have to carry a diaper bag around anymore! :)
 
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#26 ·
I'm really surprised by what I don't miss and what has become important. I do not AT ALL miss sitting in the gym on hard bleachers watching volleyball, basketball, band programs and such. We spent many many hours doing this having 3 dd close together.

I love it when we all get together and visit, tell stories and just enjoy each others company.

We have taken up bike riding again and so have our favorite friends. We can find beauty everywhere, get some exercise and great visits with our friends.

On of my "surprises" that I'm still amazed at-- we've been blessed with our the beautiful granddaughters. Didn;t think we would ever have any and had adjusted my mindset to be ok with this. Then wowzer right out of the blue comes Miss Kaylee and 11 months later Miss Ashley and Miss Alexes. I've found a new well of love to lavish on these little treasures.

I love a calm orderly house and that is what I have now, lots of music, books, friends and family. This is a great stage of life and I'm really trying to savor the moments.

Good thread-reminded me how very blessed i have been.
 
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#27 ·
msgail1953 (frugal grannie)

:dancing::grwave:The best part of growing older is that I've learned things are not really a big deal. I am now able to enjoy the good stuff and know that all the bad stuff will pass. I learned to appreciate all those horrible events I had to suffer. I am who I am because of them. I love spending time with myself. It's not lonely, it's peaceful.
 
#28 ·
wanderinggandma---I don't miss the seats and bleachers, either! How about hard old metal seats in a FREEZING cold ice rink? (hockey for 7 years with 2 boys). Oh, I couldn't wait to get home to my freshly baked bread in the timed breadmaker, and the hot meal in the crockpot, that I had put on at 4:30 am! And a hot bath! Brrrrrrr! Loved their sports and activities, but glad it's done.

msgail1953--Yes! I am so glad the horrible and hard things that make us strong are over (hopefully), but I am grateful that I went through them and proud to have come out whole on the other side.....now I know what's worth worrying about. And I adore being alone. LOVE when the family gets back together, (my sons live far away) but I am soaking up the silence. We always had the whole neighborhood in or in the yard when they were kids. I'm tired.....:hand:
 
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