The other day, sitting at the doctor’s office with our youngest, Mimi, it hit me. Right there, while watching “AristoCats” and waiting for the nurse… After 28 years of visits to the doctor’s office for baby wellness checkups, coughs, sprains, strep throats, etc. this may be one of my last visits to the pediatrician.

Mimi will be going off to college in the fall, and then, Steve and my’s time as parents to children who live at home will come to an end. And, right then while watching this classic Disney animated movie, I became a bit sad.

While we’re so eager for Mimi to spread her wings and realize her full potential, as our oldest, Molly, and middle child, Carter, are doing, we’re also a bit apprehensive of what the future will be like when our services as taxi driver, short order cook, and cheer leader are no longer needed.

Grown and Flown has already become a fantastic resource for me as we look toward this next phase in parenting. Because, as many of you know, you’ll never not be a parent, no matter how old your children. Thank you to our dear friend MaryDell, whom I met at the Southern C Summit, who also writes for this fantastic blog about empty nest parenting, for opening my eyes to all of the wonderful things that come with parenting grown children.

And thank you to the doctor’s office for giving me that little bit of extra time with Mimi, watching AristoCats, and being unplugged, and present in the moment it was a scene to savor indeed.

~ Jill

p.s. As a self-proclaimed expert in picking out voices, a little question for our readers: Who is the voice of Duchess in AristoCats? – I knew it right away and you can find out by clicking here. Be honest… did you need to click, or did you know right away too?