A friend gave me a great idea this weekend. 365 photos in a year – a journal of my life even if I don’t have words to say. I haven’t had much to say lately. A lot on my mind, but nothing itching to get out. This works well for me. Thanks, friend.
I have a sneaking suspicion my life is about to change. I’m reminded of when my first child was born, my mentor for mothering advised me to take a photo every day, for at least the first month. Weekly after that, because babies change so much in the first days and weeks. I was amazed at how much and how quickly he changed.
Now he’s about to move out.
So, for my first post in this series, you get the whole weekend, days 1 and 2. I’ll confess, I’ve been very excited about everything that’s happened in the past month. Jon voiced the idea of moving to California to live with my little brother and, within days, doors opened wide for him to go. He’s spending the last 2 weeks of his time home working to earn money for a car when he arrives at the other end. I sure wish he weren’t, so we could spend time discussing some concepts I wanted to finalize.
But you know – honestly – if I haven’t imparted what I wanted to say in 18 years of being his parent, teacher, counselor and friend, it ain’t happening. And it’s not like he’s moving into the 19th century; we still have phones, Facebook, and Skype.
This is, quite frankly, the best thing I can think of for him to do. He’s burnt out on school and not ready for college. He wants to live some real life and see what he’s capable of. Little Bro lives life outside the box; anything is possible there, the most likely that he’ll learn Spanish and start his own business.
I know the plans do include coming back home at some point, so there’s no point getting upset about never seeing him again. It’s just that – well, things are changing. So here we go:
May 14th, relaxing at home, scritching bellies and playing with the puppies.
May 15th – his graduation brunch at church.
The elders presented him with a really nice gift to commemorate his graduation.
And then my heart melted. Pips wasn’t really liking the concept of her beloved Jonny leaving, but this was looking serious. She didn’t want to sit with me anymore. So here’s my picture of today:
And that’s where she stayed, the rest of the service. They were both as happy as can be. I was near tears.
Right here. This is why I decided to homeschool 18 years ago. Because I wanted a family that loved each other and wasn’t full of the anger and rebellion that I saw in all the teens I grew up with. I wanted our last days before moving out to be touched by love and not frustrated anger. I gave up all my dreams of becoming a wealthy career woman wearing wing-tip pumps and pinstriped skirts to invest in my children.
Love and family are way more important. By the grace of God, I’ve realized a success I never could have imagined and been given the best thing. And now, with the miracle of technology, I can not only keep that memory but share it.
BleeePhoto 