Drowning In My Empty Nest

My 21 year old son texted me from college that he likes the taste of White Russians. So many thoughts rushed through my brain. Me too! I hope he’s being safe! Try it with rum instead of vodka! OMG he’s really 21! All within those five seconds, I concluded that I’m glad he shared. As a parent, I always want to be available to discuss anything. My second thought is, it was weird. Not that he’s enjoying a drink, he’s certainly old enough. There’s just something hanging out there about my own son being a grown man.

My Kids Grew Up

My son project began 21 years ago, and my daughter project started 17 years ago. There has been plenty of time to prepare for an empty nest. I’m proud of them both and can’t wait to see how life unfolds for them. I can only imagine good things. That said, nothing readies you for them being out there. You do your best to prepare them, but you can’t stand by them the entire time and defend against the haters, cheer them on when they succeed, or just tell them how much you love them when they may need to hear it.

New Book Releases Give Me Angst

I started my Angst project 5 years ago, and released the second book in 2013. When Angst was finally done I remember thinking, “I did it!” I remember finishing Buried in Angst with a profound sense of relief, thinking, “It’s done!” Drowning in Angst is different. While there are two more books left in the series that I wish I could write tomorrow, this one ties together a lot of ideas I’ve had since the beginning. It’s pretty big in scope, but I think it’s still rooted in fun. As silly as it may sound, I’ve cried and laughed several times at things that happen in Drowning in Angst. I can only hope it shows that I believe in my story.

Hope for the Best

Releasing this third novel is like watching one of your kids leave, and knowing they will only come back to visit. You do everything you can, pouring your heart and mind and will and experience into every thought and argument. You raise them the best you can, you hope for the very best, but at the end of the day you either worry yourself silly or you believe in them.

This is how I feel about finishing Drowning in Angst. Please don’t misunderstand, I love it and I’m so excited to share. But it’s also a little weird, to me, that it’s time to set it free.