Courageous Joy

Stages of Farwell
I suppose we are processing through the “stages of farewell”????

Yesterday Zander began testing every rule or boundary we have in our home. “Mom, Can I play Play Station”? “Mom, can I run naked outside in the front yard?” “Mom, can I watch a movie?” blah blah blah Every time I said, “No, Zander you know you can’t do that”; he would reply, “Dad says YES!!”

Seriously, I do believe that there are stages of farewell just as there are stages of grief. I’ve not figured them all out but I do know that this is one of the stages. There is also an increased sleeplessness in the house – children and Mommy. We’ve passed through the total blubbering phase….though meal times often reduce one of us to tears…the boys must be dreading the girls leaving. We didn’t have a circle prayer time without me crying for at least a month when they left last fall. :::sniff:::

I think the hard thing about this season in our family is that as we begin to “move on” from saying goodbye to Mike, another big farewell looms. Thinking of saying goodbye to the girls rips, as it were, the scab from our emotions all over again. I think by October we’ll be back on an even keel.

Meanwhile today begins the fall schedule for PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel). I must get busy.