Defining Moments..... IT IS WHAT IT IS

As I age I understand all the more just how temporary this ol life is.  Time use to just drag by and now of course I feel I can't keep up most days. 

There are defining moments all around me now and in the near future.  I hope that I can handle the changes as gracefully as those before me but sometimes I wonder (as I am sure my family does too!)

Tomorrow doesn't really count as a defining moment but it will be a trying day potentially.  The moral of this story may very well be NOT to send a man to do...........well you know the rest.  JD took our 17 and 15 year olds to the oral surgery regarding their wisdom teeth.  JDare has 5 and Jerm has 4 that must be removed.  So he scheduled them both tomorrow morning.  LOVELY!!!  Actually I am glad that they will each be able to get it over with........or rather, I expect to feel that way AFTER we live through the next few days. 

JDare had knee surgery about 16 months ago and is still in rehab (yep, this even though she has signed to continue to play basketball in college)   She has informed me to contact her surgeon tomorrow to schedule her an appointment with him as her physical therapist feels she may need to have another procedure (much less evasive than the first thankfully) so we will soon see.  Surgeon may disagree but either way I am glad she is hitting it head on.

She will graduate soon............(I feel look and feel my age but still.........) 

How do they go so quickly from this

to this?

Well, time gets away from us.  I don't want to be sad or desperate........and I am not.........I simply want to know that I have taught them everything I possibly could.......pointed them toward Christ......and also make sure they know that although I will always be their MOM (not their best friend-perhaps that will change when they are adults and I can at least be a real friend to them----but there is still a clear difference and responsibility with the roll of a parent).......that their father and I will ALWAYS be here for them no matter what.  All I can do when she leaves for college next fall  (other than stalk her, and I am not above it) is pray for Him to place the right people in her path.......people that will encourage her to continue to seek HIS face in all that she does. 

Believe or not I am excited for her for her to experience the next chapter in her life.  High school is tough and maybe more so for a girl.  Girls are mean and easily jealous.............need I say more?  Well, lets just say that she has experienced the ugly side of having to deal with her peers...........on the bright side, it does make it less sad for me to see her move on into the next chapter of her life and for her to be separated from all that immature junk.

And my little man...........well, driving is not too far away.  For a child with (like his mother) ADHD, the challenges are ongoing.  But I can't complain too much.  He has a heart of gold, tries really hard most days, is very compassionate, isn't ashamed to be affectionate with his family,  and is always ready and willing to help his grandparents with any project they have going on- so I will take him......just the way he is.

I am sure that I will have much more to share in the coming days and months ahead about my kids.  I am proud of their successes and tell them I expect more of them when they perform less than they are capable. 

But I am grateful that He entrusted my husband and I with them for what little time we will have them. 

But as I look toward the future, I realize that thinks won't always be as it has been in the past.......or as it is now.  It is sad to see strong individuals age and develop health and emotional issues.  We are facing that right now with a very special family member whom we have seen many times a week. It has been this way for nearly 20 years for me and more like double the years for my husband.  It is especially difficult for our kids.................I pray that I can lessen the burden somehow for those most affected with providing her with care. 

I realize life takes unexpected twists and turns.
  Things happen in an instant that change our lives forever.  I won't go into detail now but I can say that I have experienced many defining moments over the years (some really good and some really not so good) and one of the most difficult occurred approximately 10 years ago with the loss of this beautiful young Christian family member (my sweet cousin) that passed from a rare form of lukemia at the tender age of 16.

Isn't she just the most beautiful little gal?  But you only see the outward beauty and I assure you......she was even more beautiful on the inside.

Having a daughter leave for college or a son begin to drive in the coming months doesn't compare to such a painful loss.  I know that God has a plan for all of us and that He gives us what we need when we need it (never early and never late) and my challenge is to remember this when I allow life and its ups and downs to cloud my mind and resolve.

I feel that life is a test.........sometimes I fail miserably.  The good news is that He keeps giving us the same tests till we get it right!  But I want to live each day humbly and thankfully for all He has given to me and my family. 

Pray for my kids extractions tomorrow and that we, their parents, make a good team as we provide care for them.