So, yeah--it's been awhile, huh? But, I think I have a plan that may help keep me a more regular contributor here. The lovely bride's work situation has undergone lots of changes in the past months: retiring friends, construction, re-organization with new staff, but it's the shift scheduling changes wherein I have found the factor which I hope will aid in more diligent attention to communicating here. You see, every week she has a couple 11 1/2 hour shifts, so she works until 7:30 p.m. on either Monday or Tuesday each week. Since my cushy school job finishes for the day around 3:00, I have a few hours at home alone on these days, so my intended plan is to force myself to compose an entry during my "home alone" moments each week. As you may already know, or have intuitively inferred from these random personality glimpses, I've never been described (or accused) as one leading a rigidly routine, slightly structured, or even mildly organized lifestyle. So, I appreciate your wishes of high resolve and "stick-to-it-iveness" for my success with this plan.
And, last you heard, we were learning to adjust to an "emptying nest" as our brilliant son headed out to seek his fortune --or prepare for it anyway--attending university at Montana State about five hours away. He's still there, and still having a grand time staying involved in several activities and saturated in academia to satisfy his double majors of Mathematics and Computer Science. In fact, he just got notification from the Math department declaring that they had selected him "to be honored as one of our outstanding undergraduate students," and that he "will be presented a certificate of membership to Pi Mu Epsilon--the national honorary mathematics society." Really don't see him caring too much about this, but it sounds impressive to me, and of course, I always like it when others recognize the brilliance of my kids. (You are remembering my purely prejudice-free parental reporting habits, aren't you?) He also participated in a computer programming competition about a month ago, and was excited to report to us as we picked him up for dinner that evening that his team won third place out of the ten teams that competed. The winning team was of grad students from a different institution. He lives off-campus this year with, officially, two friends who are in "sword-fighting club" with him, but any time we have visited, there are many more bodies than just the three of them occupying the apartment. They have a good time with a lot of gaming together and cooperatively learning about living on their own. There has been talk of us joining "the gang" for Thanksgiving to help them cook and celebrate, as many of them are from the east coast and will not be headed home for their short three-day break. I will report how that all turns out in a later post.
But we were talking about an "emptying nest"; so, let me tell you the life lesson learned from having only two children quite close in age is that "emptying" evolves into just "plumb empty" rather rapidly. And the lesson happens to be the kind that has no way of really preparing yourself for it. So, you can imagine the emotional fallout that prevailed on the September day that the bride and I left the princess to pursue her passions at Carleton College in faraway Minnesota. And the empty quietness that accompanied our drive back, and the eerie hollowness that even yet echoes through the hallways at home. And yet, we are bit by bit adjusting; a gradual loosening of the choke-hold of lonesomeness, longer lapses between the crushing panic of the looming unknown. Like autumn's artistry slowly stippling the bushes with her brilliant hues, we too are heralding the changes life brings, and seeking to create beauty from these frosty times. We revel over each word we receive from her in e-mail--suffering the sometimes two or three days between. And we are buoyed by the adventures she reports of and the festive times she so creatively describes: werewolf hunting with newly acquired friends on full-moon evenings in the 880 acre woods on her campus; an inspiring visit --awash with awesome costumery and other random medieval merriment--to the MN Renaissance Faire in Minneapolis; late night favorite movie viewings with a friend at the brand new campus cinema, apple-picking traditions at a local orchard yielding a half-peck of fresh fruit for dorm-room snacks while attending to homework or laundry in the wee hours; traveling again to the cities to see Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" at the famed Guthrie Theatre; and simply the fascination of meeting many other bright and creative people from all across the country and world. How excited we are for her and the epic experiences she is having!
And we wince with her in her pangs of frustration or confusion as she boldly attempts to master the Russian language, or comprehend the profundities and random heady theories of various linguistic philosophers, or to extrapolate all the subtle motivations behind various cinematic or theatrical roles. Or--outside the classroom--struggles in search of that magic time-balance that allows for maximum fun, admirable academic acuity, and enough sleep to accomplish the other two. She has sprinkled her rigorous schedule with a couple "just for fun" courses as well; she enjoyed learning the partner cha-cha (and several others by now, I'm sure) in her Social Dance P.E. class, and has fun polishing up her vocal music skills at her weekly voice lessons too. Add in work-study hours at the dining hall, and the other mundane (but necessary) worries like laundry, money, keeping track of your room key, and perhaps our procrastinatory collegiate lassie is learning some new life lessons as well. What a remarkable era of growth the college years are; don't you remember?
And in our adjustment to the suddenly-empty rooms, dinner-table, and evening activities, the wondrous bride and I are working on finding balance as well. Some aspects of our daily life have been pleasantly simplified: grilled peppers and onions can be part of most every dinner; deciding on a movie is no longer an hour-long process of choices and eliminations; we get out of bed about 40 minutes before needing to be at work in the morning; far fewer drop-off or pick-up trips across town to the high school or friends' houses. Some moments remain rather rough to handle: sitting alone in church missing the joyful and vibrant voice singing next to me; the occasional third or fourth day with no e-mail assuring that all is well; the compilation of moments she would have particularly enjoyed--Chinese dining, British movie viewing, quirky discussions. . . I am sure you get the point. In all this, we thank God for His promise: "Lo, I am with you always," knowing that He'll continue helping us grow and adjust to the difficult changes and new dynamics of our family life. Thank YOU also for your prayers.
As the seasons evolve--literally and symbolically, let's remember to rest in the promises and providence of our omnipotent and unchanging Lord. In Him alone can we find the assurance to face the changes and challenges of our lives, certain of His grace and guidance through it all. Have a blessed Autumn! Talk to you next week--hopefully!
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