It's a quiet dreary rainy Monday evening as July whittles away. I made it through the first day of the work week despite feeling sore and tired from the big move I posted about on Friday. When I last shared of our family adventure the moving van was packed and all that awaited was the drive north. Saturday morning dawned way too early. Noticing that the U-Haul I rented was leaky(why would U-Haul rent a truck that leaks; that's another story) the early morning storm pressed me into action at 5:30 a.m. My daughter and I rushed into the rainy early morning to tarp, yes that's right, tarp our belongings packed INSIDE a U-haul van. And much to our dismay the van was indeed leaking.
We quickly covered everything in that van with every tarp, blanket and towel available then called our volunteer crew, two of my friends and one of my daughters, and we hit the road at 7 a.m. Our choice of friends to help was awesome because boy, do they work hard. By 9:30 a.m. we arrived in Hattiesburg AND totally unpacked the van. Did I mention the apartment is on the 3rd floor with no elevator? And yes, there was some water damage, all repairable, and many water logged boxes that made for precarious unloading.
Once rid of that awful U-haul van, I was able to rejoin family and friends at my daughters new apartment and marvel at what was unfolding before my eyes. Here was my baby girl, setting up her homestead for at least the next two years as she starts her graduate school experience at USM. And her girlfriend that came along to help her also made for great memories as she and my daughter first started playing together back in 2nd grade. That's like a million years ago.
At the end of the day, we left her and her friend behind, in a beautiful apartment, all decorated and unpacked. I could hardly believe my eyes and my thoughts were of great satisfaction. Even though she will be home with us for a few more weeks, completing her summer job, my wife and I are prepared for the day next month when off she goes, sans mom and dad and most of her dearest friends, to begin the next great chapter in her life. Having the good experiences of how well she handled life at LSU, including one horrific night when she was robbed at gunpoint, and her 6 week journey across Europe last summer helps me in gettin ready for this next chapter.
These are great milestones in our childrens lives and our lives as well. And I truly believe that these are special graced moments in time to talk with God about our hopes and joys as well as our concerns and apprehensions. Whether by education, job/career, getting married, serving in armed forces, discerning a life of religous vocation, we all must let our children become the person God wants them to be. I thank God for the gift, the treasure of my children and all that they have become and accomplished to date. I remember to thank Him for all the beautiful memories and those times when all was not so well; an illness, a struggle, a difficult passage, because all their days, their very minute by minute experiences are blessed by God. Sometimes it is hard for us to remember that.
I'm ready to embrace this next chapter in our families lives. And I pray that I'll remember more frequently that everyday is a gift from God, an opportunity for us to praise and worship Him and part of our dress rehersal in this life to spend eternal life with Him, happy forever in Heaven!
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