Goodbye - again

This morning before day break, my husband and I stood at the end of our driveway, in the dark, waving to our son as he left to drive back to Virginia to finish his last semester of college before graduating! And talk about not liking to say good bye! UGH! He was home for most of the summer doing an internship. I must admit, I was a little worried at the onset, thinking it might be difficult to have our adult son back in the house for these months, but it was so much fun. I think that the shootings at Virginia Tech in April (where he attends school) might have contributed to my increased joy in his presence, but even still, it was very fun and very pleasant to have him around.

So today, it is a day of mourning of sorts. He has safely reached his first hotel destination, so I am grateful for his safety. I am also very grateful that he has the opportunity to attend college and obtain the degree of his choice, and I am very grateful that he loves his family and that he seems to enjoy being around us too. However, I am still aware of the good bye. The next time he is here, he will be a college graduate. (God willing) It will be the beginning of a new chapter in his life and mine as a mother. No longer will my first born be dependent on me, but he will be an adult. Wow!

Good bye. Be safe. I am proud of you. I love you.

Goodbye's

Does anybody REALLY like to say "good-bye"?

I know that I don't. I also know that my best friend does not. We have had many discussions about this over the past dozen years of our friendship. We had the discussion this week - again - three different times. She was here for a visit that originated as fun trip to hang out together and ended up as an extended visit to be with her mom during open heart surgery. Discussion number one was the possibility of saying good bye to her mother, possibly forever. Thank God that good-bye did not have to be spoken as the surgery went very well and her mother is recovering beautifully.

The second discussion came when she knew she would not see her mother again...this trip anyway, and having to leave being close in proximity to her mother and travel back to her home in Virginia, half a country a way. We discussed the sorrow of living far away from ones we love, especially during times like these when physical closeness seems more important than ever.

The third conversation occurred as I drove her to the airport, watching the clock, discussing every moment we had spent and every moment we plan to spend together in the future. We both decided we really can't stand good-bye's.

Years ago, she and I made a pact to never say good-bye. I think we have kept our promise very well. We have left the presence of one another thousands of times over the years, some separations have been very short, and some very long, but we rarely say good-bye. We know our friendship will last our lifetime and beyond (since we both know that we will be together in heaven), so even if we never see one another on earth again, it is still not necessary to say good-bye. So, we say things like, "See you soon." "I love you." "I enjoyed my time with you.", etc.

So, as we move from spending two weeks enjoying one another's presence back into our lives separated by mountains, valleys, rivers, pastures and time zones, we acknowledge that we will not see one another today, but soon.

Good-bye. I really don't like to say that.

See you soon. I enjoyed my time with you. I love you.

Much better.

Summer Fun

Wow! I really have fun in the summer. The sun has finally come out in Texas! Rebecca has her best friend from Virginia here for a few weeks and we spent an entire day having fun in the sun! Check it out!