Lexington

I did not intend to be gone away from the blog for so long, but my husband and I took a bit of a journey back in time this weekend, travelling to celebrate his 20th college reunion from Washington & Lee University. Our accommodations were at a quaint bed & breakfast / Virginia farmhouse that did not have WiFi.  It was a treat to sleep late with open farmhouse windows--and embrace low tech living as a true throw back to 1993.  

 

I didn't meet my husband until 1998, so much of his W & L experience is known only to me in stories. It was a neat experience to see where he lived, meet many of his old friends & even go to a party at his old fraternity house.

And while I confess that my inner introvert was exhausted by the countless parties that demanded far more small talk than I typically enjoy, it was an important opportunity to get a clearer picture of who my husband is--and how God used the four years he spent in Lexington to mold and shape him into the man he is today.

I enjoyed learning about the influences of George Washington & Robert E. Lee and how many of the traditions they started continue to be observed today.

 

And while we were away our children were home making memories of their own with my parents and our beloved sitter. The children were bubbling over with stories to tell upon our return. It absolutely seemed as if they each grew an inch or more over the weekend.

 

I am not sure if it was because I was on a college campus for three days, or the fact that we are now within 3 weeks of their next birthday--but the clock seems to be ticking at an increasingly rapid pace.

Ten years more.

One decade.

God willing, it is all we have left before these little birdies are launched into the world.

It's nothing really.

I want to savor it and steward it.

And yet I don't want to be a clock watcher.

I want to live each moment without being so consumed in counting down that I miss it.

 

So tonight I climbed in beds and cuddled a little longer.

I sought to really listen to their stories and to speak words of blessing over each child.

 

Praising R's hard work on a Lego project and sincerely noting his maturity at dinner and the positive reports about his behavior in our absence.

Slowing down long enough to really read K's poetry, to brush her hair before bed and to look at her closely while tucking her in. (Which, honestly, she giggled was "a little awkward.")

Talking with (not just to) P about his recent complaints that he's tired of being told what to do and enjoying his realization that "Being a kid is actually pretty great. I don't have to worry about anything."

I walked back downstairs wondering again why it takes stepping away for me to grasp such simple truths.

God is writing a story in their lives...only He knows where it will take each of them. But this next decade is a chapter in which I am blessed to be a central character. As much as I would like to flip ahead to check on the outcome, I am called to be fully here, trusting Him for my direction. And for my impatient spirit that is HARD.

So I exhale. I whisper my thanks. I seek His wisdom and I pursue those little hearts while they are still entrusted to my care.