How do you end a vacation? You look forward to it all year. The excitement grows the closer it gets. And this year it was perfect. The sun shone, the water in the pond at the end of our yard was warm and inviting, the ocean smiled as the waves rolled in, and Cape Cod Bay delivered breathtaking sunsets. We laughed, we played, we ate ice cream; and then we did it all over again.
You know in the back of your head it will end but you do not think about it. Sort of like grandaughter Sara who this year decided that every day this summer was June 18, the day vacation started. The clock stopped.
The day to go back home did eventually come. The end of something good. The end of a wonderfully playful time with our adult children and seven grandkids. They were going home, we were going home. It would be a while until we saw each other again. It would be a year until we saw the pond again.
How do you say good bye? Whether it is an experience, or a person. I am German. I am stoic. I swallow hard, get into the car and move quickly into tomorrow, never really saying or feeling "good bye." I don't like pain. I don't like grief. I am aware that when I block these feelings, I block other feelings as well and end up half human.
My grandson Hunter taught me something this summer. The house was cleaned up, the car was loaded, and we were ready to go. Nine year old Hunter said to his Dad, "Can I go down to the pond for a few minutes?" He slowly walked down the path to the edge of the water. He sat on the grass looking out over the pond. Tears came to his eyes. He said nothing, and yet in his own quiet way, he was saying "Good bye." He respected the feeling. He gave it time and space. And then with a hug for his Gram and me he said, "I'm ready now."
Jesus said, "A little child shall lead them." Hunter, thank you for teaching me to respect my feelings. |