There’s a gentle shift in the air—one of those seasonal changes you can sense in your bones.
I feel it in my heart. Even Jack seems to notice.
Today marks the end of one beautiful season for our family and the beginning of another.
Tonight we’ll drop our son off at college in the very spot where we dropped his sister Courtney ten years ago, the same place where his oldest sister Kylee and her husband left for their next chapter.
For the first time in 32 years, my husband and I will drive home to an empty nest.
We’ll be greeted by dog kisses and familiar routines, but it will still feel surreal to return to a home that no longer has children living here day to day.
We don’t yet know what that will feel like.
When I began this blog—several houses and about twelve years ago—Luke was seven. Seven!
Now he’s nineteen.
Although The Inspired Room was never a traditional “mommy blog,” our family, our dogs, and meaningful moments have often appeared here—on the blog, in videos, in my books, and on social media.
This little boy has grown up alongside the blog.
I’ve been crying about this day on and off for nearly a year—honestly, I’ve been a bit of a mess.
Those are bittersweet tears.
I’m overflowing with feelings: joy for his future, pride in who he’s becoming, relief that we reached this milestone, and deep gratitude for every moment along the way.
This is a welcome, though emotional, change of season. Parenting tests you, but raising our children has been an honor and a gift. Watching them grow into kind, capable people has been everything.
We’ll remain present for them, offering a home that’s always open and a place they can return to.
In the coming weeks I expect to share more—reflections on how we created a home for our children, how routines shift, and how we’re shaping our days as this new season unfolds.
Today, though, I’ll let myself feel every single mom feeling.
I’ll shed some more bittersweet tears.
I’ll hold him a little tighter, whisper “I love you, buddy,” and then I’ll let him go so he can begin his next chapter. And in that letting go, a new season will begin.