by Sandy McKeown

“Teach us to fly, Momma!” my grandchildren plead when they are seeking attention. I am engrossed as my daughter-in-law begins the familiar routine.

“Hold out your arms,” she gently coaches. “Now, wave them up and down.” She watches as their little arms begin flapping. “Good! Now faster, faster!” And my grandchildren, with their arms flapping ever faster and faster, run away from their mother, their arms flapping as fast as they can go. Then my daughter-in-law calls out, “You did it! You’re flying! You’re free!”

At this point she turns back to whatever she was doing, and the kids usually come back for more attention, but that’s okay—it was just a game.

Realistically, we expected the kids to leave and “be free” on their own. After graduation, we would help them pack, show them the way to a job or college, and say, “You did it! You’re on your own! You’re free!” We also expected them to never move back home again.

This economy has changed that.

We recently moved almost five hours from where we raised our kids. We bought a bigger house. Three of the four kids who had moved out previously are back.  Did we buy too big? Some may think so. I’m not there—yet. Read More→