Don't Blink
They say you blink and one day your kids are grown, moving away and starting lives of their own. They tell all new parents to enjoy all the stages, even the hard ones, because you don't get them back. They should give this advice to siblings, too. Especially the ones that grow up together.
I had the privilege of spending 5 days in Virginia with my family in August. Bear in mind this is was the first time the four of us had been together since Karissa and I both moved away. On some levels, it felt exactly the same. The boys were a little taller and their voices a little deeper. Otherwise not much had changed. Then we spent a few days together, did some things. We played board games and laughed hysterically like we always do. But there was such an underlying air of difference that couldn't be ignored. We ad our own obligations, things to plan for and take into consideration. The boys were preparing for a new school year and youth group leadership positions. Karissa and I were trying to figure out what the next stages of life look like, figuring out things with jobs and husbands, kids and animals.
When we were looking at old photos and telling stories of growing up, I got a little teary. All that growing up time, all those years living in the same house, was nothing but distant memories now. We would never be there again. It made me realize how quickly our chilhoods pass us by in our haste to grow up. We long for the freedom we believe awaits us in adulthood, not realizing the sweetness of the freedom currently in our possession. That week, I realized that my childhood passed in an absolute blur. What I wouldn't give to go back and savor a few of those moments just a little longer.
It's funny, we all cried when they dropped me off at the airport, joking that I could still change my mind and stay. But we all know we can't stay. God doesn't often give us a permanent home with our parents and siblings. We aren't designed to be there forever. It would have felt strange to stay. Karissa and I have families of our own now, a place where we can use and share the things we learned in our childhood. We ave the duty and privilege to share the wisdom and knowledge given to us, to our own children perhaps someday and to those who come through our own doors. And, man, what a treasure of memories we have the joy to take with us and pull out on the way when life gets hard.
Your family will always be your family. You just don't consider how they grow and change almost instantly. Kids, don't blink. You miss things, too.
I had the privilege of spending 5 days in Virginia with my family in August. Bear in mind this is was the first time the four of us had been together since Karissa and I both moved away. On some levels, it felt exactly the same. The boys were a little taller and their voices a little deeper. Otherwise not much had changed. Then we spent a few days together, did some things. We played board games and laughed hysterically like we always do. But there was such an underlying air of difference that couldn't be ignored. We ad our own obligations, things to plan for and take into consideration. The boys were preparing for a new school year and youth group leadership positions. Karissa and I were trying to figure out what the next stages of life look like, figuring out things with jobs and husbands, kids and animals.
When we were looking at old photos and telling stories of growing up, I got a little teary. All that growing up time, all those years living in the same house, was nothing but distant memories now. We would never be there again. It made me realize how quickly our chilhoods pass us by in our haste to grow up. We long for the freedom we believe awaits us in adulthood, not realizing the sweetness of the freedom currently in our possession. That week, I realized that my childhood passed in an absolute blur. What I wouldn't give to go back and savor a few of those moments just a little longer.
It's funny, we all cried when they dropped me off at the airport, joking that I could still change my mind and stay. But we all know we can't stay. God doesn't often give us a permanent home with our parents and siblings. We aren't designed to be there forever. It would have felt strange to stay. Karissa and I have families of our own now, a place where we can use and share the things we learned in our childhood. We ave the duty and privilege to share the wisdom and knowledge given to us, to our own children perhaps someday and to those who come through our own doors. And, man, what a treasure of memories we have the joy to take with us and pull out on the way when life gets hard.
Your family will always be your family. You just don't consider how they grow and change almost instantly. Kids, don't blink. You miss things, too.
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