A Final Prayer in the Kitchen

The new owners met us this morning.

For a final walk through before closing.

They are SO excited.

About buying our place!

They were literally bouncing up and down happy!

And we are very blessed.

To turn our house over.

To a wonderful young family.

That will begin their lives here.

Just as we did 22 years ago.



Lord knows I've had plenty of time to get used to the idea.

I thought I was ready.

But.

When it was time to go.

The last time.

Scott & I stood in our kitchen in Greenwood.

As we'd done a million times before.

And we took a final look around.

And I bawled like a baby!



My husband is the sweetest man.

He took my hand.

And prayed the most tender prayer over that house.

Thanking God for blessing our family there.

For keeping us safe through all those years.

For the wonderful memories with our girls.

For watching them grow right before our eyes.

For the pets we have loved there.

And won't ever forget.

For all the friends that had spent time there with us.

For the refuge it had been for us.

And many others.

For giving us life.

And love.

And tears.

And loss.

And joy.

For all those things.

Scott took my hand.

And I closed the door quietly behind me.

For the last time.

Full.

And sad.

And thankful.

And blessed.

The Folks Across the Street

In just a few more days.

We'll be closing on the sale of our house.

 On Fawnbrook Drive.

Home to my family for almost 22 years!

There's one thing we won't be closing on, however.

Our relationship.

With the folks that live across the street.

They were our neighbors from day one.

They were our age.

I was recently reminded.

When we first moved into that house back in 1993.

But we were busy raising our children.

Busy with work.

Busy with life.

And we didn't take the time.

To invite them into our lives.

As early as I would have liked.

That, I regret.

In recent years.

All that's changed.

They became family.

And we grew to love them.

As did our critter clan.

They were always our go-to grandparents.

For the cats.

And dogs.

When we would go on camping trips or out of town.

Linda can tell you to this day.

The date we put our sweet Tanner down.

They grieved with us over that dog.

And missed her so.

Our dog, Buddy.

Has a fierce love for Mr. Norris.

Countless times.

Norris quietly slipped into our back gate.

To meet with his friend.

And clip on his leash.

And take him for a walk.

Best friends.

Linda has supplied us with many a fresh, home baked cake.

This one was given tonight.

Strawberry lemonade......my husband shamelessly requested it.

And Linda happily provided.

Aside from the pet sitting and the cakes, however.

They've given us much more than we can ever give in return.

I've taken a lot of comfort in having them across the street.

Knowing they were there.

Somehow gave me.

A lot of assurance and peace.

Good people.

The best.

They never had children of their own.

But they've taken on tens of countless others (like us.)

That they've "adopted" through the years.

We've been blessed by their friendship.

By talks on their sofa.

By visits in the driveway.

By the generosity of their hearts.

And their love for my family.

Pets included.

So, it's not goodbye.

We've already offered the extra room in Due West.

And we're talking about a standing lunch date.

At Mig's.

To stay in touch.

Watching Norris & Linda's example all these years.

Caused me to consider tonight.

That I need to be that kind of neighbor to someone on my street.

They've made quite a legacy.

That I won't forget.

Those folks across the street.


I love you both.

Anticipation

For me.

If I have a trip coming up.

Anticipating it.

Is half the fun.

I love having a trip on my calendar.

Just ahead.

I'm a happy traveler.

I'll go just about anywhere.

And the anticipation of a trip?

It may not be as good as actually.....going,

But.

It's..... almost as good  as going for me.

Scott & I have signed on with a small team headed back to Kenya later this year.

And me?

Oh yeah.

I think about it.....every day.

Not Scott.

He won't be thinking about the trip.

Until we're a couple of weeks out.

And even then.

It will only be in passing.

He's..... COMPLETELY..... missing  out I'm convinced.

His choice.

However regrettable.

(smile.)

We'll get to the airport to leave.

As we have before.

And then.....he'll start anticipating it.

Not much before.

I read in my devotion recently.

"you are on your way to heaven;
     nothing can prevent you from reaching your destination."

"there you will see me face to face." *

Honestly.

I don't think about that nearly enough.

It seems like a far away place.

It's hard for me even to visualize it.

But, it's coming too.

Just like a trip to Kenya.

It's not penciled in on my calendar, of course.

But anticipating it?

I'm wondering why I'm not thinking about it more?

Maybe.

It's crowded out by the day to day.

Or the reality of today.

The reality of this world.

But.

"there you will see me face to face."

Face to face.

That's a destination worth thinking about.

And for sure.

Worth.

Anticipating.

*   "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young.

Bungling Motherhood

Jackie Kennedy Onassis once said.

"If you bungle raising your children, 
            I don't think whatever else you do matters very much."

I agree.

If you're a mom.

Nothing else you ever do really matters very much.

In comparison.

As a working mom.

Someone that juggled a career,

Along with the very important job of raising my girls.

In the back of my mind.

I many times felt.

That I might come up short.

As moms were measured.

Somehow slighting my girls.

In my decision to continue my career.

Because of that.

I believe I invested in their lives even more.

In an effort not to be found lacking.

I never had the assurance at that time.

Of course.

In all those growing up years.

Of how it would all turn out.

But more than anything.

I wanted to do a good job.

I really wanted to do a good job.

As a working mom and family.

Time was valuable.

And important to us to use it well.

Our time was always spent doing things.....together.

Our girls went where we went.

And we rarely did anything without them.

Evenings, weekends and the in between.

We invested......our time.

Vacations were usually spent in tiny campers.

Sitting around a campfire at night.

We tried never to miss the important things.

 Basketball or softball games.

Sleep-over parties.

First day of school pictures.

Prom night.

Mission trips.

Church on Sunday mornings.

To this day.

Our kids have never been to Disney World.

But they did see and hear.

Maya Angelou stand before them.

Sharing stories about growing up.

We never provided video games at home.

But they grew to appreciate.

Books.....and reading.......and history.......and art.

They were often the last kids to get a cell phone.

But the first kid among their friends to travel to Africa.

 

My view is from a different perspective today, of course.

My girls are grown.

Both adults.

And I have to say.

Despite motherhood insecurities and uncertainty.

I have no regrets today.

I know I made mistakes.

And I learned along the way.

But I always tried to give them the very best of me.

Especially my time.

And always my love.

It's been important to me to encourage them.

To see the bigger world around them.

And better understand their place.....and responsibility in it.

Today was Mother's Day.

I was blessed to spend it with my mom.

And my girls.

And during the course of the day.

Both my girls looked me in the eye.

And gave me the affirmation.

Every mom wants to hear.

You've been a good mom.

I love you.

So to all my young friends out there today.

Just beginning to raise your family.

Whether you work in the home.

Or continue your career like me.

There is no right or wrong choice.

But the call for us......is the same.

Invest in your children.

Give them the best of who you are.

And give them your time.

It is our most important role.

And nothing else we ever do.

Will be more important.