I was off from work this week and had a bit of time to work on a story, except I found myself freewriting for a moment because I was lost in thoughts that have nothing to do with the Gilded Age, the Hudson Valley, fictional characters, or romance. Mother’s Day is this weekend, and I got lost in the thoughts of my own motherhood journey. I recently entered a new phase of my life and I am still trying to process it: My youngest joined the Army and started Basic Training out in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.  My house is now empty and insanely quiet all day, every day.