the four winds



Glacier National Park, Montana, 1998

 About the time this photo was taken, 13 years ago, I began wondering what life would be like when the kids were grown. "Oh," I'd joke, "they'll probably live in four different corners of the country!" And while that isn't quite the case, it sometimes nearly feels like it. I held an unrealistic expectation that Bill and I would fly here and there and visit the kids on a whim. Completely naive, I didn't take into account that sometimes, with four kids (now six, with the daughters-in-love) and two parents, the math just won't work.

Take February, for example. Our third grandchild is due during the first week of the month, so we're for sure sticking close to home for that. David, our oldest, just bought his first house in Florida, and we'd love to go help him with settling in. But that's on a time crunch, since his job takes him away for spring training, beginning the third week in February. And don'tcha know, no sooner would we board a plane for Florida ... Jill would go into labor!

Then during the last weekend in February, Katie has her senior photography show in Indiana, which we wouldn't miss for the world. Also that weekend, Dan's in a wedding here, so we'll want to be around to visit with him a bit.

If you've been reading this month, you know our Katie's in Paraguay, mission-ing to her heart's content. People have asked me: "Don't you want your kids closer to you?" Why yes, I do. Quick lunches after church and more frequent time with granddaughters would be wonderful.

But raising children is like trying to tame the wind, you know? It blows where it will, coming and going. We chose to have four children and we encourage their independence and opportunities. They "blow where they may" and that means we don't see them as often as we'd like.
But when at last the reunions happen, how incredibly sweet!