What can you call your own these days?

I know many of you have found your schedules and personal space trampled by the unexpected changes of this pandemic. Our house was a bit fuller than usual throughout the past 6 months as well, but we're in the season of life where, slowly but surely, the capacity of our home has shrunk to just Brian and me. It's a day I dreamed about for years but then grieved at the way it felt when each of our children moved out. I've learned what lots of folks tried to tell me is true. The doorway to an empty nest is constantly revolving.

I'm terrible at transitions. I like to hunker down in one rhythm and live there until I decide to make the shift. That's not how the world works, of course, and definitely not how the world works for parents of younger children. Your time is almost never your own. And while the spaciousness of what feels like my own has expanded, I'm still figuring out how to move gracefully between what I consider my own and what I give away.

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