With five of our six children being teenagers, their schedules are all over the place. We try to have dinner together in the evening, but we never know from day to day who is going to be home in time to eat. Some are at work, some are at practice or a late game out of town, some are with friends. Sometimes they won’t be back until the next morning. Then, there is always the possibility that someone will be bringing friends along, who may or may not have eaten. So, there is always the dinner time dilemma. Am I cooking for twelve people or three? There’s a significant difference. Everyone texts me their plans and I cook accordingly.

Until recently.

Standing at the stove, I started thinking back to my college days in Morehead, KY. I had a habit of showing up at home on a weekend with unexpected guests. I would bring home friends, roommates, and people who lived too far from their own homes to travel back on a long weekend. I never gave a thought to how my mom would provide for their needs as well as mine. It was just always there. We were always greeted with a smile and a hug. There was always food on the table and a prayer to bless it. There was a washer and dryer to catch up on laundry, a warm bed to sleep in, a bonfire to make s’mores, a movie to watch, and an opportunity to cheat at a game of cards. There were a few times that my out-of-town friends stayed an entire week! I knew our home was a safe place where all were welcome.

Now that I’m a parent, I realize the extra mile (or two, or three) my mom had to go to make all those things happen. She worked full time. There was no Click List to do her grocery shopping. My friends and I created a need for extra food, extra bedding (which created extra laundry), and extra people using all the hot water in the shower. We made extra noise in the house when my dad worked third shift and was trying to sleep. And now I realize that we created so much extra work for my mom. She never complained.

As I popped food in the oven, I wondered how Mom did it. But, reflecting on what I’ve come to realize as my own children are becoming adults, I knew the answer. A Mama just loves having her kids home. The rest is just background noise. The extra food, the sink full of dishes, the house full of friends, and the air mattresses all over the floor is a blessing, not an inconvenience.

This window of time is fleeting. Soon, they will be moving out to their own homes. My son will be off to the Army. Their voices won’t be echoing down the hall from the next room. As much as I grumble to my husband about hearing footsteps pounding across the floor and the microwave door slamming shut while we are trying to sleep, I will miss it when it’s no longer there. Not the noise part. I won’t miss that. I won’t miss waking to find all our frozen pizzas eaten in the middle of the night, or the music blaring from the bathroom when someone is taking a shower. But I’ll miss the people I love most in this world who are making the noise. I’ll miss them all being under the same roof.

So, for now, I hold on to every moment. I love that our adult children still walk through the front door, help themselves to whatever is in the kitchen, and curl up on the couch to take a nap. I love that they bring empty containers back that had been full of leftovers the time before, in expectation of filling them up again. I love that they hang out talking in each other’s rooms, just because they are friends as well as siblings. I love that they want to bring their friends along because they know they are safe, loved, and cared for. I love that my parents provided that example for my sisters and I to follow, and I hope our children do the same with their own families.

With that in mind, I changed the way I cook. I try to always prepare food for eight to ten people. If they all show up, or if they bring friends, there is enough to go around. If only three or four are there for the meal, the rest can be warmed up for lunches the next day. (Watch out, kids! The big cooking pot is coming out. Chili today is spaghetti tomorrow!)

Today, my heart is full. Thank you, Mom, for being awesome.

Have a blessed week, friends!