When our oldest 2 to moved out, with each one I was sad. Then the 3rd child a DD moved out & I immed. painted her old room & turned it into my sewing room. It shocked her to return and see it. Made her sad I think. But I knew she was marrying a great guy & that he would totally take wonderful care of her. And 10 yrs later, he has. The final kid a DS moved out at last & I was ready! We knocked out the wall between the 2 rooms and expanded the sewing room to also incl a LA. After 3 yrs he hit some hard times, their marriage ended and he moved back for 5 months into our sewing/quilting room. Crushed me but as a parent I had to make do, the best I could. He did leave again and is doing okay. Not quite the way I hoped or what I would have planned for him but he is happy. So that makes me happy. We cannot plan our kids lives, but we can offer advice & it is up to them as to whether they will take it or not. If they are surviving, happy, content, then we have to accept that. They will continue to grow & learn from mistakes. I would have them over for dinner & plan things that are inexpensive & have them help you prepare it. On hand lesson. :wink: Your DD will appreciate it later on. This is where you have to let her go & you live the next chapter of your life. She is going to live hers. It is all part of it. We don't know what the next chapter of anyone's life contains or what it is even about. We just have to be ready to live it the best that we can. After 4 kids, I finally learned this & fully accept it. I actually love them all being out on their own. They need to experience all kinds of life lessons that they cannot experience if we are paving the road for them. We are helping them to grow their wings all throughout their life. Not always do we get to say when or how they leave our nest. I tell you this in hope that you will see that you are a normal mother. All kids are so different & do not always do things we like or do what we have hopes of them doing. Or when. You have a roller coaster of emotions & that is normal. You are a Mom & always will be. I hope this helps you in some way. We are all here for you if you need or want to vent. PM me if you ever want to shout. {{{{{HUGE HUGS}}}}}
Making cookbooks from family recipes sounds like a very neat idea! I love that actually. Would make wonderful gifts.