One More Hug and Kiss
Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 1.8 aperture, 1/80 shutter 400 ISO
Yes, I am that mom. The one who follows her kid through the airport taking pictures. People began to stare. I didn’t care. Only a few times did I feel compelled to explain myself. (I kept thinking security was going to confiscate my camera.) I wanted to gather every last moment, every piece of now that I could. I was a bit of mess. Right before she went through security, she buried her face in my neck and whispered that she would be praying for me. I laughed through my tears. “That’s backwards,” I said. ” I am supposed to be the grown up here.” She knows. She knows I will struggle more than she. She is a wise, compassionate birdie.
The house already echoes in the places she has left empty; on the front porch swing, at the piano, in her room. I cannot walk into the pantry and look the Wheat Thins in the face. One of her favorites. Most of all, I miss her encouraging, sweet voice. She made a point of encouraging me daily. No matter where I was, she would come find me: in my studio, at my computer, at the barn. “Mama?” I can hear her now. ” Whatcha doing?”
The problem with loving wonderful people is the hole they create when they leave. I have no choice. I must endure the ache. I must love with a heart wide open, even though I miss her terribly already. I miss them both. Both girls are now flying free.
When Johnny came home tonight and found me crying he said. ” What is going on? Get over here and hug me! I am the funny one!” I love that boy. So glad he is still here. He is wonderful too.
Annie will be writing a blog while she is at Oxford. She is a gifted writer, and many of you probably followed her blog last year as she did a 365 Project of her own. (She was my inspiration!) She writes instead of posting photos. You can find her blog here at http://abirdabroad.wordpress.com. I encourage you to bookmark it and follow her as she blogs about her experiences at Oxford University. You won’t be disappointed!
Okay, onward. God is with us. Me, my daughters, and every one of you.
Psalm 30:5 ~ ” Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
Packing Up
Back Seat Reading
Bread for the Road
Through the City
Help from Daddy
Oxford Bound Skippies
Birdie Grown Up
Watching from a Distance
Fly Back Home Soon
6 Comments
Oh my, the pics and words of the this post and the last are so so beautiful Mary Anne. I can certainly understand the emptiness and quietness but I look forward to hearing about the adventures.
Beautiful post! I love where you wrote “The problem with loving wonderful people is the hole they create when they leave”. So very true! What a wonderful adventure your daughter is embarking on!
Thank you for being that mom…the one who follows her kid through the airport taking pictures. I admire your courage and creativity. A true artist. I can feel the weight of the moment when I look at these images. I flash forward to the day when my daughter will have to “leave the nest” and it becomes much more relevant to me. Thank you (and Chris) for your transparency. I believe it’s one of your strengths as a person and a parent and I aspire to become the same. I will be praying for your whole family and I look forward to the “homecoming” pictures in the near future. Take care and God bless!
I cried as I read your post today. I can’t comprehend the pain and the anxiety on top of excitement of a new chapter that God has already written in your child’s life that is unfolding. My heart aches for you for the quietness of less birds in your nest. But I know God has great plans for your girls and you and Chris. You are in my prayers and I also pray that your stomach pains maybe are just pains leaking from your broken heart. Anxiety is wicked. Sending up prayers right now.
I am so excited for Annie attending Oxford..On the other hand, I know it’s hard to be parted from ones that you love and mean so much too you. I would be taking pictures also..I would have to capture the memory of her departing and also of her return home.. I know that’s going to be a “Joyous Day” for you .. . My Prayers are with her Mary Anne ,and with you also. I pray the Lord will give you strength during this time of seperation from your children. .I know how much you love your family . I love mine too. I have had 6 children altogether ( Amazing I know) . I have always had joy in taking care of my family and the Lord has Blessed me with them.. Now he’s calling me out to do other things . I am so Happy to do his will and looking forward to what ever he has for me!! I’m Ready!!! Bless you and your family always!!!!! Anne : )
[…] The week before she left for Oxford, Annie shared one of her favorite C.S. Lewis quotes with me, and it is still ringing in my ears. In his book Mere Christianity, Lewis states, “One soul in the whole of creation you do know: and it is the only one whose fate is placed in your hands. If there is a God, you are, in a sense, alone with Him.” Meeting Place […]