Long time, no see! I’ve been lost for the past four days in the world of preteen camp. I can hardly believe that I have a preteen or that she wears shoes two sizes bigger than mine or that she’s almost as tall as me. But, it’s true. The girl is growing up. I had fun watching her conquer a fear on the zipline, giggle with her friends late into the night, worship God in her sweet, reserved way, and ask deep questions about her faith that I didn’t even think of asking until I was in my thirties. Kids are pretty amazing.
We got in the car after the last camper was picked up by her parents, and Adelade sighed. I feel…..lonely, she said. And, I knew exactly how she felt. Because I felt it, too. It’s hard to see something so fun and special come to an end. Yet, here I sit, in my own living room, just steps away from my own bed, and I’m glad to be home. I’m glad that tonight I tucked Emerald in and kissed Sawyer goodnight. I’m glad that tonight I’ll sleep next to Chad, settled back into our usual way of just breathing steady through the night next to each other. I guess one thing that I always seem to learn when a good thing comes to an end is to appreciate what’s right in front of me. Laundry, grocery shopping, thinking about buying school supplies. Squeezing the joy and freedom out of the last few precious weeks of summer.
God is so good. Tonight I feel exhausted. And so grateful.
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