In the blink of an eye

Tuesday afternoon we had Emily's high school orientation. While I was sitting there it hit me –– in just over four years my "baby" will leave us and head out into this big world by herself. Sure, we will be there and help her, however she will no longer be completely dependent upon us. She will be living and making decisions for herself, without us there to guide her. That thought alone is overwhelmingly scary.

This made me think about the whole "child leaving the nest" process. If you think about it, the life span of a person is about 78 years old. You only really are being "raised" for the first 18 years. Really, it is like sending a newborn out into the world and telling them to make it on their own. It dawned on me there, just how much shaping and molding we must do in the first 18 years of their life.

I had this conversation with one of my friends while walking yesterday morning and she brought up an interesting point. She said she felt while we are there shaping and molding, starting at about 14 years old, kids many times are more molded and shaped by their peers than their parents. Now THAT is a scary thought.

So then I pondered this topic even more. How much of a person is because of their parents and how much is because of how they may have been molded by outside influences. How much of those outside influences, as parents, can we control? Can we ever feel confident that when our children leave us, they will be okay?

My final conclusion is this. We need to do the best of our ability in raising them and then leave the rest to God to keep them safe, keep them happy and keep them on the right track. There is really nothing else we can do.

I know it is four years away, but believe me, it will pass in the blink of an eye. I know the past 14 years have.

And she is out!

We are back, safe and sound. We got home around 5 pm last night and was thrown right into the family routine. It was so good to see the kids and you could tell that they were glad to see us. (Or maybe it was just the gifts we had for them)

This morning we had appointments for our first round of shots for the move. You all know how I just love shots. I needed two, Matt needed one, Emily and Chris needed two and Sami (poor Sami!) needed three. Sami was in full drama queen mode before we even entered the door. I was just worried about getting my shots in front of the kids.

The nurse asked for the kids to go first. So Emily volunteered to be the first human pin cushion. She never flinched and even watched the needles go in. Chris was next. The first shot hurt pretty bad so Matt had to hold back his arm and help him relax for the second one.

Just as he was done we heard Emily gasp and then crash to the floor, smashing her head in the process. At first we thought she was having a seizure, but it appears that she just passed out. The nurse said post-anxiety fainting is not uncommon with preteens and teenagers. It took her about 30 minutes to stop looking like a sheet. Luckily she just has a bad headache and a goose egg.

So Sam was up next. You can imagine what that was like. Fortunately I sat with Emily while Matt dealt with Sam. Drama queen mode was definitely vamped up during those five minutes. Matt handled his shot like a pro and the nurse just made sure I sat down for several minutes after my arm was attacked. We go back in 10 more days for another round. Emily said this time she thinks she will just sit down for a while after.

Less than 24 hours back in the states and already drama. Only us.

Stay Tuned...

...for some huge, exciting news from our family. I could be nice and tell you now, but I like to keep people in suspense.

So watch the blog over the next few days. I promise, it will shock you.