Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I just returned from dropping off my baby boy for his freshman year at Brigham Young University….over 1200 miles away.  I am not exactly sure what I was expecting out of this momentous occasion but I have to be honest and say that I was a bit let down.  It wasn’t quite the Hallmark Moment I had built it up to be in my imagination.

Because my sweet boy was nervous and intimidated by the whole situation, anything I said, anything I did and any suggestion I had was just wrong.  I guess I was OK with that because I remember how overwhelmed I felt at that same moment in my own life.  What didn’t sit so well with me however was how quickly I was dismissed from my motherly rights and duties.  I had planned to be in Provo for three days.  He was going to need my help and advice, right?!?  I didn’t even make it to the end of the first day before he gave me a kiss goodbye, told me he was “good” and walked away, breaking my heart into little, squishy pieces.

So now the little old lady inside of me is going to come out when I say,  THE TIME WITH YOUR KIDS AT HOME GOES WAY TOO FAST!!!  How is it even possible that we are down to only 4 kiddos left under the Jones roof?  My baby girl is married and my baby boy is gone to college!!!  I guess my one comfort is that I still have other little minions at home for me to love on and snuggle, but I now appreciate how extraordinarily fast that time will also be gone.

So how do I cope with my lonely heart and depression?  Baking, of course.  There isn’t much that the smell of hot cookies can’t cure.  I would have never made these when my college boy was home because he despises raisins.  Wait….um, I think I just discovered the first positive aspect of him being gone.  All the raisins, chocolate and carbonated beverages our family wants without worrying about getting the stink-eye from him 🙂

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