Today was quiet. Very, very quiet. We sent The Little Kid off to summer camp for 6 days. Middle Kid "Shorty" was up at summer camp, and returned this evening. Daughter #1 is away for the weekend.
OK, so life is weird. Funny. Ironic.
The thing about kids is, you dream of having them. Perhaps you are blessed with children. You love them fully. Even when they are sooo tiring, time-consuming, ride-requiring, hand-hold-outing, incessantly-texting, etc. etc.
But the point is, you raise them, essentially, to leave your care, and your home. To be independent, live a good life, find love and happiness.
Alright, alright, this is getting deep. But I think of other rites of passage. A friend of ours is experiencing one now. His house is empty now too -- no one but him and the cat. No beautiful wife of 40 years, humming to music, dancing, laughing. She lives in a new home now, with others that have memory issues. She is in her 50's. It seems so wrong. Too soon.
Both milestones. Going to camp. One spouse alone in a house without the other. Mixed feelings. Some fear involved.
May God help us with these feelings that we have. Face the fears. Grant us faith (the opposite of fear). And give us hope in the future, whatever it may be. I'm just sayin'.
