People keep asking me how it’s going with my newly acquired “empty nest.”

Honestly, it’s… just what it is. I think I did most of my grieving for the change in advance. Not to mention, in the three-and-a-half weeks Jason and I have had as new empty nesters, I’ve spent over a week of that quite ill with the cold from heck, and then several more weeks desperately behind and trying to catch up. And, quite besides the virus that got me down, perimenopause continues to thrill with new and delightful ways to make my life difficult.

So… I haven’t much had time to think about my empty nest, to be honest.

Jabin came home for Thanksgiving last weekend, which was nice. We get to talk to all three of the boys almost every weekend. It’s about as much involvement as we could hope for in our adult sons’ lives at this point. And we have plenty to keep us busy, even though it’s just the two of us here now.

Speaking of perimenopause, I want to share a story about how amazing my husband is.

Recent developments with my physical health have actually taken quite a toll on my mental health. Jason is pretty great about touching base with me during the day (most days). Since Monday was a holiday, this week, he texted on Tuesday in the late morning, as he is wont to do, to say good morning and see how I was doing.

As it turns out, I was doing… not great. It was a particularly low mental health day, with a high work load. It was my book launch day for Every Bell that Rings, but I wasn’t really ready for it and had a lot to do. And my energy and emotional reserves were already low when I got out of bed. Because perimenopause.

But I don’t want to bring anyone down, and especially my husband when he’s at work and can do nothing about how I happen to be feeling that day. So, as is my wont, I sent him back a string of GIFs that humorously and melodramatically did what I would have probably done verbally if he’d asked me in person—be a bit dramatic about how I wasn’t doing great while making it seem like it wasn’t a big deal and I was handling it just fine.

An hour later, he walked in the door. He’d driven home on his lunch break, just to give me a hug.

Needless to say, the emotions I’d been barely managing to hold together kind of fell apart. But only because my amazing husband made it safe for me to do so.

Real love is real…

The actual events that happen in my novels, and what my heroes do to love my heroines, are almost always completely fictional. But how the guys love the gal isn’t.

It’s easy to write strong, supportive, and encouraging men when that’s who I get to spend my life with.

If you want to lose yourself in a love story like that, please check out my books. And especially my new release, Every Bell that Rings. I’ve now got copies in hand, and I’d love to send one to you.

Happy Friday, my friend. May your weekend be blessed.

P. S. I put up a post in the Books and Tea League today with more quotes and teasers from Every Bell, some free downloadable art, and a poll about which is your favourite and what form you would like to see me turn those quotes and art pieces into. You can read it and have your say here. (You’ll need to create a free account if you haven’t already.)