For a mom who is a writer, it does not get much better than a strong cup of coffee and a stolen moment at Panera with my laptop. I have been following the mother of 6 who put the Pokemon cards on ebay - oh the thrill of impromptu celebrity. How I wish I had thought to post my mom moments on ebay!
With less than a week to departure, we have 7 containers packed and a few last minute shopping sprints left to complete. The Dakota District and our LINKS churches in Ohio generously gave us gift cards to a variety of places and this has been such a blessing. We have been 'back to school shopping' quite a few times. Honestly, without these gifts, there would have been very little shopping taking place this furlough. Lexi, being the oldest, was really desperate for clothes. God knows our needs! I really can't express how thankful we are for the generosity of the saints!
The end of a furlough is always a mixed bag. I hate 'goodbyes' and yet every two years we are faced with it again. We have grown close to so many in Quincy and they faithfully see us off each time we come home. We watch each other's children grow in increments of two years. Next time we come home, many of these kids will be teenagers!
"Packing up" is a learned art, I think. We came with a very small amount of clothes this time. In fact, each girl had one backpack with all of her clothes for a summer. Can you imagine how tired we are of those clothes? Over a week ago, I began sorting through these clothes - most that we brought will be given to charity. I have learned to never leave this kind of packing until the night before - much to stressful. So, each evening finds me in the dining room of our small apartment, which has been converted into 'the packing room'. It is a tricky business because you need clothes to wrap the breakables and yet with 7 days left, we still need clothes to wear as well. What can you do without for the next week? What is staying behind permanently? How much packing can you accomplish tonight? These are the questions that run through my mind.
Today will find us running errands, finishing some of that last minute shopping, and then relishing one of our last evenings with the McCabes (our former volunteers to Bulgaria).
Musings from Panera - August 2007
1 comment:
I know it wasn't exactly the summer you had in mind, but it was obvious to us, even through the difficult times, that you live your lives solely for God. We feel blessed to have shared a few weeks with your family, and we can't wait to see you in Bulgaria next summer. You will always be on our mind and in our prayers.
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