Sometimes you don't realize how special a part of life is until that part is gone.

Not that I don't enjoy my Olivia moments, but I am missing my days as the mom of busy little boys.

I'm missing the daily sounds of Zelda, Maria, or Madden football being played.

I'm missing the all-nighters with video games, movie-making, and pizza.

I'm missing a football being thrown in the yard or being scared when I walk into a room that one of my boys is going to be hiding behind the door.

Todd does pop in from college from time to time and he did scare me not too long ago, so I think I'm good in the "being scared" part of my sadness.

It's just that lately I've felt the cavernous hole that has been dug into our daily routine by the reality of our boys being pretty much "all grown up."

And I think the transformation to becoming a full-fledged "girl mom" has intensified the longing for a few male motherhood moments.

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day, sharing about my journey into shopping for a dress for Olivia's first high school homecoming dress,

and I told her I needed to thank my boys for all the things they allowed me to avoid for so many years as a mom.

I even told Tim that standing in Game Stop with the boys as they examined all the used video games was much more comfortable for me than being in a dress store with a bunch of somewhat emotional girls, watching them try on dress after dress to see which one looked "just right."

So, this morning I just wanted to take a couple minutes to say this to Erich, Evan, and Todd............

Thank you for letting me believe that homecoming was a football game all those years you were in high school!

Who knew there was a need to nearly prom shop twice a year?!?!?!

Thank you for being okay with wearing your choir tux and a different tie to prom, waiting until your date told you what color to buy and then letting me run get one while on a grocery shopping trip or some other outing.

Thank you for buying a blue polyester plaid suit at Goodwill one year, Erich, and finding a date who thought that was cool for a prom outfit.

And thank you, Todd, for thinking it was cool a few years later and wearing it again.

Thank you for the year when a tuxedo-patterned t-shirt, a top hat, and a cane was your choice for prom attire.

Thank you for not needing hair appointments and accessories that had to match from head to toe.

Thank you for the girls you hung out with you made prom fun and not stressful!

I wish I could find all your prom memory pictures to share....I'm looking for them!

Thank you for just being you..........honestly, I am blessed to have been a part of your life all these years.

I miss you more than words can ever begin to say.

But for this chapter of my life, God has given me a girl.........

which means I've got to switch gears for a few years.

And enjoy the moments of picking the right dress, the perfect shoes, and the right jewelry.

I'm thankful that Olivia is content with consignment shops and borrowed jewelry.

I'm thankful that Olivia understands modesty and likes to have fun while shopping.

I'm thankful that she's patient with a mom who is more comfortable looking for the latest release of a new football video game than the right shade of black shoes with the right kind of heel.

But, today, I'm mostly thankful for all my boy-mom memories.

They are tucked away in my heart forever, and because of each of you......Erich, Evan, Todd, and Nick........I am who I am today.

Always your mom.

Always here for you.

Always proud.

Always thankful.