Melancholy

Small turned eighteen yesterday. He had a wonderful happy day, rounded out by dinner with seven of his closest friends in a good restaurant. It was a fine, fun evening. He enjoyed every moment of his day, squeezing every last morsel of pleasure out of it as he is inclined to do. I was a proud mama, watching this boy who has fought against all sorts of odds to not only survive but come up smiling and together and approaching full adulthood with enthusiasm and anticipation.

Yet today I am overcome with a strange melancholy.

Perhaps it is just the loss of my "baby boy" and the bewildering speed at which he became a man. Perhaps, it derives from the realisation that within a year he will be at University and the house will be echoingly empty. Perhaps I am simply not looking forward to this phase of family life. Well not the empty house part of it..... my husband and I are already enjoying more time to ourselves and the freedom to please ourselves that comes with adult children who are in the process of leaving home.