"Write it down."

Last night after family prayer, the kids went down the hallway, Jason went into the office, and I got in bed to read for a while.

Rhiannon and Wade were teasing and giggling with each other, having a good time making a little too much noise.  It made me smile, listening to them.

All of a sudden I thought, "In a couple years it will just be Wade down that hallway."  My heart stopped, imagining the stillness and how different it would be with Rhiannon gone off to college. How lonely it might be for Wade.

Oh my, it was a sad feeling and moment.  I had to close my eyes and breathe it in, just facing it and trying to remember the last time I'd felt like that, which had been back during my senior year of high school when I realized all of my friends were going off in different directions.

Then another thought came to mind: "Write it down."  I fought the prompting for a minute, but then I got up, dusted off my journal and wrote a page about what I was feeling right then, and how grateful I was to be a mother and have Rhiannon and Wade in our family.

It was a small, important moment for me.

Here were a couple other important things from today:

"I'm thankful for Jason. Back in 1997 we got engaged after 3 months of dating and were married a few months later. Several years have gone by and I'm happy to see that I made the right decision falling head over heels for him. We are very different from each other, but those differences create balance and plenty of opportunities for Jason to practice kindness, patience, and understanding, haha! I am grateful every single day for his love, humor, and moral compass. I love this man!"

And this:

While I was eating lunch today, I saw this quote on a wall decoration of a cute HGTV show called Fixer Upper.  The quote stopped me in my tracks and zinged me today!  Whatever I do today, it is enough!

Preparing myself

Jason and Wade are off golfing this morning.  Rhiannon is at a pioneer trek activity with her church youth group until tomorrow night.  I'm glad I took a few minutes to get caught up on this blog today instead of mindlessly surfing the Internet or other lazy time-fillers!

I realized that this week has prepared me for the busy school days of coming.  The calendar was packed and it was hard to find space to write it all!

Monday we did lots of chores, yard work, finished most of our school shopping, Rhiannon went to a babysitting job, and we looked after people's homes who were on vacation.

Tuesday we joined friends in the morning for basketball at the church and had the sister missionaries over for dinner in the evening.

Wednesday I attended training with the school district for subbing, we took friends on a tour of Richmond Elementary School in case they were going to attend there, Wade went to a friend's house, Rhiannon packed up for trek, and I hosted a book club and swimming in the evening.

Yesterday Rhiannon left for Trek, we had Wade's friends over for a swim party, I took a friend to Baskin Robbins for her birthday, and I went to training for my institute calling at church.

Whew!

Next week, our final full week of summer vacation, will prepare me for the silence of having the kids gone during the day when school starts.  Both kids will be gone all morning Monday through Friday next week (the last full week of our summer vacation).  Rhiannon will be at band camp from 7 am to 12 pm, and Wade will be at basketball camp from 8 am to 1 pm.

Maybe I'll use that time to finish up the next blog book?  Or work on emergency preparedness?  Or get my visiting teaching done?  Or, if I MUST, mop the kitchen floor? :)

Life is good.  I'm so thankful for this little family of ours--Jason, Rhiannon, and Wade mean so much to me!

Apron strings

A friend of mine from college days dropped her oldest child off at Texas A&M this week.  She posted the following:

"I'm sure people would have you believe that apron strings don't have nerves in them, that you can't feel them being cut. I'm going to be straight with you: you can feel it. And it hurts."

As this school year comes to a close, I feel a little of what this friend is going through.  Our "baby" is finishing up elementary school, after 9+ months of fantastic experiences with spelling bees, student council, Battle of the Books, a winning basketball season, and an a-m-a-z-i-n-g teacher.  His big sister is getting ready to tackle end-of-year finals as she finishes up her first year of seminary (where she only  missed for sick days a couple of times!).  She's enjoyed making math videos for geometry class, reading Raisin in the Sun and Great Gatsby, and dissecting A-L-L kinds of interesting things in her biology class (a worm, mollusk, squid, and grasshopper!)

I am soooooooo ready for summer with these cute kids, ready for no schedules and be-here-at-this-time-on-this-day routines.  

BUT.

the approaching summer reminds me that time marches on and there's not one thing I can do to stop it.

Hopefully I'll remember to be in the present, be where my feet are, and enjoy it to the fullest!