I started this site soon after my first born headed to college.
The youngest was starting to search for colleges herself and the empty nest was just around the corner.
At that Time Next Chapter Moms meant to me – The Next Chapter.
I had been at different times over the last 20 years – a full time working mom, a stay at home mom, a work at home mom entrepreneur, and a part time working mom. But from 1997 on, one thing was consistent, I had my babies under my roof. And that was about to no longer be true. There were lots of lasts and of course some firsts and that Next Chapter was about, Now what? I am still answering that question fairly regularly but I have rediscovered things that had been long forgotten or ignored – one being reading. So in that case The Next Chapter has a new meaning – literally The Next Chapter of the next book.
Our empty nester life began in September 2017 and from then until the end of 2017 I completed 16 books. Not that daunting but for me at that time it was pretty amazing. Sadly in the twenty years before that I had maybe read 16 total plus or minus a couple.
Since then I certainly haven’t slowed down. As I write this I am at 109 for 2018. I always have a book in my bag, on my kindle and an audible version on my phone. When commuting, I have a 45 – 60 minute drive each way in traffic and Audible has become my constant companion in my car. I’ve joined 2 book clubs and a big bonus on top of the books is I’ve met a nice handful of lovely ladies that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Some time ago I started posting my stacks of books from my end table on my Instagram account and occasionally the cover of a book I was reading. Since that time people are now always asking me, What are you reading now? That has been pretty amazing to me to go from the asker of that question to the one asked.
I have loved my newly rediscovered love of reading and books. I spend my new free time out of the malls (saving money I don’t want to spend) and off online shopping sites but instead home on my back patio or snuggled in front of the fire with a book.
I started thinking of this site that I have let get lonely and thought, maybe I’ll take a stab of moving from just instagramming my book stacks and covers to writing about them.
So that is a new direction here. I think I will still post about other things, because there are still lots of Nexts for me in this Next Chapter, but for now it definitely includes books. Oh, and I will rate them in wine. Stay tuned! 🍷
