Hi Reader,

I missed my usual Friday morning with you. I've been away from home dealing with something personal this week, so I'm writing to you a day off schedule.

In the middle of all this, my phone rang. It was one of my sons. Something in his world had gone sideways, and I could hear it in his voice right away. Before we hung up, he asked me when I was coming home.

That question snapped me out of where my head has been.

I think about how much has changed since my boys grew up. The house is quieter. The relationship looks different now. Most days it feels less like parenting and more like knowing two young men I really like. There are moments I miss the old version of us.

Then one phone call reminded me of something we forget when the nest empties (or is close to it).

They still need us. Not for rides or dinner or curfews anymore. They need us in a deeper way now, and usually only when it counts. Nobody really tells you that part. You stop being needed constantly and start being needed truly.

I stayed on the phone with him for a long time. I didn't fix anything. I just listened. That seems to be the job now, being the person they call when it matters.

I keep learning that this stage of life is full of these shifts. The role changes, the season changes, and somewhere in the middle of it we have to figure out who we are now.

That is actually why I put together When A Season Ends. It came out of my own seasons closing, and if you're standing in one of those right now, it might help to have it nearby. You can grab it here → When A Season Ends​

Whatever is changing in your world right now, I hope you remember that changed doesn't mean over. It just means different. Sometimes different holds more than we expected. I've had to say that to myself more than a few times this week.

Talk soon,

Follow along with me... ​​​

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​nextchapterlivingwithlynn.com​