There He Goes!

There goes my baby.

He's running down the road, just like he has done every morning or every evening (and sometimes, both) for days, often weeks, sometimes months, sometimes a mile, more often 6-10 miles.

He's 18 years old now, getting ready to leave for university.

There goes my baby!

And here is my empty nest. I love the prospect of my empty nest. And I love that my youngest child is leaving, with love from both his parents, and his sisters, too. Words from my mother float to & fro, and now I hear her saying, "It's a blessing that your kids are capable of leaving, of going off on their own..." And so I, too, feel. It is a blessing.

I watch him run down the road most evenings as I am fixing dinner. My baby has an athletic physique now.

There goes my baby!

Where in the world did the time go?? The quiet toddler turned into the quiet nursery school kid, smiling at the goings-on in his surroundings...he must have been taking funny mental notes all along. When he met his grade school buddies, they "stuck" through high school. And funny, funny characters they were. They are all scattering this week, to different universities. I secretly hope they will keep in touch for years, but I know that is often not the case.

And there he goes, down our road, no doubt thinking of life beyond that rural road and into his new life, new friends, new teammates, new world.

And what do I feel?

Like a big long prayer is a'comin'.