Tonight there is a small gathering going on downstairs, but as I saw as I came upstairs to write, no one downstairs is quite dead yet. The familiar laughter fills my ears, yet as the people leave I anticipate hearing the pain of shedding tears. It is all a part of life I suppose, yet I know it is hard on them all. It is something I wish I could take away, but in a way it is a right of passage we all cross on our way to adulthood.

It is a stark contrast to our family dinner that just preceded it. Sure there was the tensions of separation, but as family we always find ourselves back together. The dynamic never really changes that much and we accept changes with an ease that makes it tolerable. We will gather again, just we have in the past and just like tonight, all through our lives. There is a certainty in that we don’t just rely upon but believe will continue to take place. The certainty of that in young people has not the foundation of a family. Their anxiety is real, because in truth, it is based upon their hope.

Of course my hope too is that they will continue on exactly the same because I love it as it is now, but I know it will really never be the same. Each of their worlds is expanding, and what they now worry about letting go of will soon be assuaged by the reality that these very same worlds are not being dismantled but enriched as they move ahead. And though it may be a rough night, excitement and maturity replaces anxiety in the end.

Tomorrow morning we will pack up and leave, and I will have a few hours to prepare for my transition…….my wake of sorts I suppose. I have become convinced that all this is why God gives grandchildren. After all, it’s gonna need to be pretty dang good to get me to pull out of that parking lot in Missouri tomorrow!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!