There’s a lot going on, as this is the busiest time of the school year.  It’s really hard to believe, but there are only 21 days of school remaining.

If you happen to be the parent or guardian of a high school senior, right about now you’re probably wondering if you’re going to need a second or third mortgage to finish out the school year. That last year of high school is so expensive. Between graduation supplies, senior pictures, prom, final lunch bills, and senior trip, the money goes out almost faster than it comes in.

Today, Cody received his cap and gown and invitations. Nic sent me a message to tell me that she also received her ALC cap and gown today. Ready or not, these graduations are nearly upon us. It’s very strange that Cody will be graduating earlier than Nic does, but four weeks from now, all my children will be high school graduates, and six weeks from now, my daughter will be a college graduate.

Before all that happens, though, we still have prom, senior day, and senior trip to get through. Then there is all the end-of-the-year stuff that schools have to deal with – getting kids scheduled for next year’s classes, taking the end-of-the-year tests, giving final exams. What that basically means is that the next 21 days of school will fly by.

I don’t quite have to deal with empty nest syndrome just yet. Cody will graduate, and the next week he will turn 18. Officially, my baby will be all grown up. He will also still be my baby, and he won’t have to head off to UK until August. We’ll have three full months of vacation. Nic will get to spend about six weeks at home before heading to grad school.

Life will be different in six weeks. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s supposed to be different. We raise our children, and then we send them out into the world. I wonder what I’ll do, how I’ll spend my time, after the kids are all gone. I’ve wondered that before, though. There was a time when my schedule was so busy, I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going.

When all four kids were involved in activities and practices, we were always coming or going somewhere. Back then, I wondered what I’d do, how I’d spend my time, when I didn’t have to do all that running around. After Byron graduated, things slowed down a little but not much; then Nic graduated, and things slowed down a little more. Things didn’t really slow down, though, until after Trav graduated, and it was just Cody and me. Cody was still involved in activities at school, but running around with just one takes a lot less time.

And even though it surprised me, I found things to do with my time at home. I read. I watch Food Network and crime dramas. I read some more. I write. I blog. I find new recipes to try. I nap. Occasionally, I do absolutely nothing. My schedule is about to get a lot emptier. I’m not worried, though. I’ve begun adjusting to the changes. I know that I’ll find things to do to keep myself busy, especially since my granddaughter will be born this summer.

The Lion King pretty much sums up how it is. Just listen to the song “The Circle of Life.” I’m sure our parents wondered the same things while they were raising us, and as we know, they survived our growing up and moving out on our own. That means we will survive it too when our kids grow up and move out. It’s the way things are meant to be.