Tears fall like waterfalls

Busy busy busy! You know when you are so busy you can only think about the thing happening right in front of you. Sometimes it is a blessing to be so busy. I think if I had not been so busy for the past three weeks I would have died from dehydration.

Real Estate Sales has consumed my life and therefore it has been difficult to pull my attention to the next event in my life. My son, my baby, my last child at home, my coffee buddy, my shopping pal, my errand runner, computer support technician, my t.v. buddy, my clown, my friend is leaving me to start his life.

The selfish side of me wants him to stay home or to stay close to home, that would make me happy. But the good side of me knows that he is ready to fly and become the Man God has called him to be. It is so exciting to see who he is going to be. I can see who he is now and I know that soon he will sharpen who he is and extend who he is to who he will be. He is at ground zero and ready to launch. In a sense sending him off to college is like anticipating the third movie in a trilogy where everything comes to a close. Because the movie has just started, each year will be a block buster and the forth year the conclusion.

Today at the Freshman "dedication" we sang the hymn Be God My Vision, they start their freshman year with this and they end their four years with this. My prayer is that my son having been brought up in the way of the Lord will seek God for his vision because anything less would be from mans effort.

The actual day of heading to Spokane Washington home of Whitworth was a day from hell in my world of real estate. I had a closing on Thursday and thought everything was good. But my clients had a lot of things to move out of the farm. They did not get it done so Friday morning, they went back out to move the remainder of the property. They were only trying to honor their commitment they met no harm. I get an angry call from the buyer he is calling the police because the sellers are on his property. I tried to calm him but my phone kept cutting in and out and he was so angry he would not listen. He had heard that there had been a murder suicide in the house and the lovely neighbor had told them that the carpets had not been replaced, they also told them that the son was still "squatting" in the home. So with this juicy news the buyer was hot and not happy, later I find out they had tried to stop funding. I get a call from the police and they are wanting to know what is going on. I fill them in and beg for time to send someone out to warn the seller that they are about to be approach by the sheriff. I manage to get some people to get out there but not soon enough. There was a confrontation and then a resolution. But the six toed cat my be a total loss much to many of our dismay.

That stinking roller coaster turned out to be for three hour of our 9 hour tour, distracted me from being able to engage in what was truly happening. The heat from being in the non air conditioned Strayhound bus was stifling.

We tried to work on goal setting with our fledgling freshman but he was not into it. We feel like we failed him in that he does not know the meaning of goal setting and without that there is little chance for great direction. I think we feel that we let him down in not making him be more responsible. This has been confirmed by a very close source (AFK). With our inadequacies there the strength of the Lord will be.

We had a fun filled evening watching the food network, one of Andy's favorites. After we had had a delightful dinner with gramma, Rick, Uncle Charlie and Donna. We all over consumed because we could and it was forced upon us by the establishment. The hotel bed was nice to lay out and get some relief. We shared a room, Peter, Amy and Brian and I got the beds and our little floor layer got the floor. This is where he sleeps at home so whats the diff. in a hotel room?

Saturday Morning we met up with Gramma and Rick and pulled out all the stuff from the truck. We met very excited RA and other student government kids they were amazingly helpful. The carried in boxes and told us how to arrange the room and helped every way they could.

Little did we know that there were not only Chris and Andy but on the other side of the common area was a room just like Andy's and there was Ben and Wade. So it is really four guys sharing three rooms.

We went to Target and bought, a small table, a table lamp, a rug and so on and so on. We forgot about being tax exempt so we knew another trip to Target was in store. We got the room set up, Andy figured out the Internet and things were shaping up.

Andy's room mate is a great guy from Colorado, his mom was with him and they had their own crisis upon departing for their two day drive. Their dog got sick and by the time they made it to Washington, she had to be put to sleep. Very hard thing for a mom to relinquish her last child to college and to loose a beloved pet. We enjoyed out time visiting and exchanged emails so that we could stay in touch.

The event that the school put on for the evening was great! The best part was the history of the school. It has been in existence for a long time and has gone through lots of changes. The current president has a vision for excellence. That shows in everything at the school. It is clean, it is orderly, it is friendly and extremely positive place. His words fell into place for what our last bit of encouragement for Andy is. To set goals and to set a goal of excellence in all that you do, allows you to decide much more easily what things you will do. The school as set a goal of academic excellence and that is important. Every move they make will be governed by that goal.

They talked about the Hyena that may distract the Freshman from the path that they have set themselves on. Side note..the theme was Safari. The hyena's to Andy represented distractions of all sorts, I thought they just represented girls. So girls from here on out are called Hyena's!! He and I have discussed but with no formal written agreement that he can observe for six months and see which girls have the qualities and traits that he desires in a female companion. Then after two years he can cut one from the herd (in keeping with the Safari theme). But we see Andy being focused on studies and travel so we are hoping that he finds a girl that will like to go along on those trips and be a part of those things that are important to him rather than holding him back or distracting and keeping him from doing that. Everyone always tells me he will pick is own girl and they are absolutely correct. God is in control of that and he has chosen the women who will perfectly complement, support and love him. These are just more of the fun things we are awaiting in the next "movie" of his life.

We took Andy out for a farewell lunch with Peter and Amy and us. We went to Red Robin one of our favorites. But all morning my eyes were leaking and would not stop. But getting to be with Andy just as a family one last time and realizing finally that we would be back to see him in October, my eyes stopped and I could smile again. Also our table conversation is always humorous to us, others could find it offensive but we can turn them. Andy had his always consumed Whiskey River BBQ Burger. We took him back to the dorm Peter and Amy had a gift for him. It was left in the room. I will let you in on something. It was the huge green stuffed frog that has mysteriously ended up in each of our houses. Peter and Amy have actually found it in their refrigerator. I suppose this beast will end up in other boys or girls rooms at Whitworth college.

When at the lawn by Andy's dorm I insisted on photos, mom and Andy, mom, Andy and Peter, Andy and Peter, mom and Andy and Amy, Dad and Andy, and the whole thing again. We were laughing and making a spectacle of ourselves but who cares. They are my pictures. I gave Andy his card and I gave him two big hugs and he hugged back :) his dad hugged and his brother said good by. Then he walked away with his additional Target purchases, we piled into the car and watched him walk away.

We discussed his readiness and decided that he would grow and that being at this college was the best thing for him. I left with the feeling that Whitworth is the best place for him and he is in good hands and he will grow and thrive under their care, encouragement and activities. I am content and the tears have stopped. I am at peace. But I will miss my son, my coffee buddy and my friend! Life is good!