by Hope
It hit me hard last week. I am truly entering a new phase of life. And I don’t think I’m as prepared as I thought I was…mentally that is.
We were not able to use our kitchen for a couple of days…truly, couldn’t even walk in there while there were some repairs and fixes being done to the floors. So I decided we would eat out those days. Reasonably priced meals, maybe a picnic…
But the first night in to this “banned from the kitchen” time and I was the only one here to eat dinner. Princess and Beauty had planned their own picnic with friends. And Gymnast tagged along at the last minute. I knew this was coming. I knew with Gymnast getting his license, I would be left to my own devices more often than not.
But I wasn’t ready for it…
A Good Book & Free Appetizer
I took myself out to eat anyways. I didn’t really want to go, especially alone. But I went.
I chose Mexican because, well one, options are limited in our tiny town, especially since many places are short staffed so have opted to shutdown at night. And because, well, chips and queso, come on! I grabbed a couple of books on my way out the door, my sweater and jumped in the car full of trepidation at this being my new normal.
The meal was great! I read several chapters in each book. And I thought…this could be very expensive. I need to nip this in the bud quickly.
I don’t want to be the person who goes out every night or picks up food all the time because I’m lonely or lazy. But I’m not sure I want to constantly cook for one…
Help…any other single moms suddenly find themselves alone, with an empty table and still need to feed yourself. What do you do? Do you cook for one every night? Do you eat in front of the TV?
I’m grateful that Gymnast has two more years of high school. I won’t always be alone…yet. But it is coming. I need to prepare myself.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.