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Parting is such sweet sorrow . . .

Again today I will bid farewell to my son, Matthew and daughter-in-law, Brittany as their leave comes to a close. This one is especially hard for me since, unlike all the other times, this one is open-ended. I do not know when I will see them again. Every other time, there was an end date; a goal to be achieved; something I could hang my hat on; an event to take place that marked the time: boot camp to Family Day, then to graduation, then to pre-deployment leave, then to the triumphant return and post deployment leave. . . . . But now, there is no finite time frame, nothing to hang my hat on, no date certain to which I may look forward. I know that sounds melodramatic, since I know that I will see them again, and they are but a phone call away now, instead of across an ocean. Yet still, I'm sad to see them go. Heck, I feel the same way when Amy leaves, even though she's just a few hours up the road. Funny how now that my kids are grown and able to meet their own needs, I find myself needing to keep them close. Bittersweet for me, but also a great comfort to know that each of them will be just fine in this old world. They have all achieved a measure of success in life for which I prayed fervently. I am so proud of all my kids (and that includes Chris, Nick, Mali, Jonathan, and Brittany) that my heart could burst. I love them so very much and I thank God for blessing me with such bounty!!!