Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! When my kids were little, I made green foods but now I make traditional Irish food as seen above!

I used to get a Shamrock shake one time in March!

Today is my sister’s birthday! I was three when she was born and I could say I remember her coming home from the hospital to my first house as a child, but the memories might be borne of the photos. I have lots of photos of me standing next to her bassinet. Family lore says that I said, “I hate her. Take her back.” Wow, what a jerk I was. Kate and I are very different but also a lot alike in many ways and I truly can’t imagine her having been “taken back”. I do absolutely remember the day Molly came home from the hospital because I was 6. We had been watched by a neighbor, and our mom had given us cigar boxes with presents in them that we could open while waiting. I remember standing on the neighbor’s driveway and watching for my parents’ brown Oldsmobile to pull into our driveway so we could run up and greet them.

The original fam – I am the one standing in the back, Kate is below me and Molly is on my Dad’s lap:

*I wanted to start a podcast this year, but I know it’s more work than maybe I am ready for. I also know my friend Dan’s heart wasn’t in it and I didn’t want to push him. If he gets inspired, I still want to do it, though. It was going to be based on topics that 50-year-olds face called “Our Fifties Sense”. Dan would have to do the technical end of things most likely, and he works full time and is a busy Dad. The podcasts I enjoy most right now are chatty and funny. My idea was to take a topic and chat about it from the female v. male perspective.

This is Dan and I at his mom’s 80th birthday party:

*I went to a library cooking class in January, and it was good but chaotic. The German cookbook author was the featured chef and did more in January, but I wasn’t interested in the foods they were teaching and after how crowded and chaotic the first one was, I didn’t really want to do another one. February’s chef cancelled for some reason. March’s chef is based on kid allergen-free foods and that doesn’t interest me. So, I still might attend another one in the future, but I haven’t been that interested in the ones on offer. I love that they have a demo kitchen and are doing a chef-in-residence program. Mason says I should pay and take a “real” cooking class and not just go to the free library ones.

*The pandemic taught me how to make dressings and sauces when I couldn’t find the ones I would usually buy. I save the most wonderful jam jars from the Bonne Maman brand and make my own dressing most of the time in the jar and then shake it up. Here is one from Cup of Jo blog:

Lemon-Dijon Dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice (from about 1 1/2 lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon honey (or sugar to make vegan)
1/3 cup olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Every time I make my own dressing I feel so amazing! Ha!

*Empty nester house is quiet but it’s going well. I would love to have a set family meal night eventually but right now I am not sure we can coordinate a night between the kids’ work schedules, sadly. I would love to do Sunday night. I am still figuring out how to grocery shop for just two. I am buying less chips, for sure! My fridge and freezer are way too stuffed currently for some reason. I can’t function when it’s overstuffed. This will be the first full month of only grocery shopping for two and I have been tracking again this month. I feel much less pressure about cooking dinner even though Mason was super easy.

*Eddie Otis is still crated when I leave the house. I don’t want to leave him for more than four hours because of this so I am a bit limited in how long I leave the house.

I am trying to take him on some errands with me. He can do the Kroger pickup if I have them put the groceries in the front with me since he is in the back area of my car. He barks his head off, unfortunately. He can go to Feeder’s Supply with me to get his treats. He can return library books with me if I just use the drop off bin. He is an excellent car rider unless we come to a stop sign and he sees a threat. I try to end an errand with something in it for him like a new field to run in and sniff. Anyway, I am that crazy dog lady.

*My feelings about being retired are still confusing. I really miss the students and all the fun I had. I really don’t miss the lack of work/life balance, the admin bs, the PDs, the meetings for meetings’ sake, etc. I think of a school memory almost every day. I communicate with former students on social media most days. I miss the social interactions and some days I don’t have enough to satisfy my social side.

My tutoring student has brought his grade up two letter grades! I was so happy! We are still meeting most weeks at a Starbuck’s. This has been good for me. I think about subbing sometimes but I just really don’t want a full 8 hour day right now.

*I am trying to establish some routines/rhythms to my new life at home. Mondays are generally look at calendar, pay bills, do admin stuff, prep some food for the week, Amy laundry. Thursdays are water the plants and collect trash day. Friday I generally try to do house laundry and clean as much as I can with EO and then do whatever else on Saturday. I don’t really have a set grocery shop day yet. Things can be moved around if needed.

I never want to leave you hanging about anything I’ve mentioned here on the blog. I hope that I am authentic and that you feel like you “know” me. I am open to suggestions or tips that have made your life better.

My coffee is now cold!

Amy

27 thoughts on “Coffee Talk”

  1. Amy, I love these! I was wondering about the podcast – I get it. It’s a commitment for sure. I have a friend who does one and she and her partner put a lot of effort into it. The title and material seem very relatable – maybe there is “someone” out there reading that has another partner idea for you. You were born to teach and the “itch” never goes away….mine is back. I have to remember all the reasons I “can’t” and it makes me sad but life moves on. Tutoring seems to have filled your bucket a bit! And EO is a good reason to stay home too 🙂

    so much more to say…glad you shared – it’s good knowing others out there are feeling this empty-nest transition and can relate. Happy Tuesday!

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  2. I think you would be a great podcaster but I’m sure it’s a lot of work.

    Have you ever thought of volunteering at school? Maybe elementary? I remember we always had kids who needed a mentor or buddy. Someone who could come and read with them. I’ve thought of doing it myself.

    When my little brother came home from the hospital – I was 4 – I was VERY disappointed. When I heard I had a brother I immediately thought of Greg or Peter Brady not a baby. Ha! Luckily I grew to love him!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I have. I have thought about the school where my kids went which is also behind my house. Also, my principal talked about using me to pull out kids who needed credit recovery, but I haven’t heard from him.
      That is so funny! I always wanted an older brother. Oh well.

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  3. Hope you eventually get that podcast off the ground- I would definitely listen! Enjoy your St. Patty’s Day 🙂

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    1. You are kind to say that but what if you hate my voice? I probably share too much. It’s weird, right? Thank you. It’s nice to have dinner done in the crockpot!

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  6. There’s so much to comment on, but I’ll limit myself to a couple of them. I think it seems like you’re doing as best you can with the empty nester life! The grocery struggle is real, though. I feel like I’m still figuring things out for Jonah and me. He will eat when I cook what he likes, but he’s out for a good bit of the time. I love the idea of a set family dinner night; I tried that at the beginning of the new life I have now, and it went well for a few months, then it kind of fizzled. Adult kids are hard to pin down! Add to that crazy work schedules and friend obligations they have, and well…you get my drift. I’m sure you will come up with something!

    I get the struggle with a social life that doesn’t meet your needs. I can see that you would miss your former students like crazy! I’m sure they miss you as well. I think that even if you were to sub, the dynamic would be very different; if that’s the case, I don’t know that it would fulfill you. I wish I had more of an idea of something I could suggest for you, but I do think that if you keep doing what you’re doing right now, that something will happen. It could be something that falls into your lap, or it could be an idea that you come up with or one you hear about. I’m glad you’ve taken off this first year and have stayed home. I think that needed to happen! You have the future in front of you, though. Keep on hanging out with the friends who are life giving, and keep on trying new things. You’re doing a great job, my friend.

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  7. St. Patrick’s Day is something I’ve never celebrated although I have always wanted to try a Shamrock Shake. Happy birthday to your sister. The podcast idea sounds great, I hope you get to do it one day. Making your own dressing is such a simple thing, I have been learning through our recipe boxes and I get it, it does feel amazing! Good job to the student that you are tutoring and you too!

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  8. Are you friends with the other Spanish teachers? Maybe you could be a guest lecturer once a month and do all the fun stuff with them. Maybe you could offer a tutoring group with 4-6 students at a time to get that class feel and they could converse in Spanish with each other with you there to oversee/correct things? Just a few ideas…it’s hard to balance that time of wanting time for yourself, but not too much time.

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  9. I make my own dressing too (though my husband and sons prefer their “old” ones) so I mix one up every couple of weeks just for me in a mason jar. I’ve always wanted to take a cooking class but we don’t have any of them around us; I think Alec’s college started offering them but they sound rather intense and meet for a few weeks at a time and with them being nearly an hour away I just can’t get myself to make that commitment.

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  11. I remember the night my mom went into labor for my little sister. For some reason, my dad wasn’t around, and we were with the neighbor lady. I don’t really remember if she took Mom to the hospital and then took us home or vice versa. Maybe my sister was early. Things I never thought to ask my mom.

    If you were the kind of teacher I think you were (and I’m pretty sure you were), it will take you a long, long time to get that out of your system. I still have dreams about my old classroom (the building was even torn down so it doesn’t even exist anymore). I left before I should have, but it was the best decision for me at the time. I did sub for a semester for a spec ed teacher as that’s what I had been for the first half of my career. But, I haven’t subbed since. Maybe…you need to be a docent! I get my teaching bug scratched there and can pick my schedule. And, there are no tests! Or, how about working at the library? But, honestly, if you don’t have to work, just take your time learning about the new Amy. You really don’t know her yet. I found the new Marsha when I started blogging.

    We used to host family dinners, but now that we’ve downsized, our house is too small so my daughter does it. And, I love it! I’m a guest instead of a hostess even though the kids all know they are always welcome here.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. Awww, that’s so cool that you remember that.
      Yes, I knew it would take a while. It’s just such a part of your identity. I do have some ideas but I purposely am making myself take a year.
      I am trying to learn the new Amy! She’s a b*^*h! Just kidding!
      That can be nice, too!

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  12. I love that you still have some kind of daily connection to your students and the school. I would relate of missing some of the social connections. That is great your student has improved his grade! You are a mix of your parents in this picture. At first, I was thinking you look so much like your mom. Then I saw your dad and thought the same thing. I went from grocery shopping for 4, to 3, to 2, to 1, so I get the adjustment. It is all strange.

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    1. Thank you. I was happy. Yes, I think I am a mix of both. It is an adjustment. I went from 4 to 2 each of the college years so I have done it before but it takes a bit.

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  13. I forgot about the green McD’s shakes! The food classes sound fun (as long as what they are cooking is what you’d want to make). Hopefully you can get to a family night dinner…I would want to do the same.

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    1. I didn’t end up getting one. I remember the last one didn’t taste like I remembered. I looked into some classes and there is a date night one that I might be able to talk Tom into.
      Yes – I am hopeful!

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  14. Your podcast idea sounds like a fun one! I will listen when it comes into fruition! I am spending way too much money on food and it disappears quickly especially when I oldest comes home for at least 4 days on the weekend for the free meals lol! But we get to see him a lot so I am not complaining. The thing I miss the most from being a SAHM and not working are the human interactions: I am very grateful for my walking/running friends: I would go crazy without them.

    http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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