A Little Down Time

Our immediate family now consists of four adults and one eleven-year-old boy. What I mean is that in addition to Ken and me, we have our daughter, her good friend, Lynette, and Isaiah living with us. Four adults in any one house can make for too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

The three of them left for the west on Wednesday evening. The last I heard was around noon yesterday when they were in the parking lot of Mt. Rushmore. Basically, they are taking the same trip we are planning, God willing, July 6th. When our daughter learned we were planning to take Isaiah out west, she decided to jump the gun on us. That was and is so fine with us. Of course, we would like her to see God’s wonders in our nation and share that with her son. I’m happy our intent caused her to take on this adventure. In our phone conversation, the kids shared with me that they loved the Badlands and saw wild bison, in fact, one walked in front of a car ahead of them. They sounded thrilled and oh so happy. It is our delight to hear of their happiness and thrill.

As I was writing this, the phone just rang and it was Scarlen with, “this is our daily check-in”. I am delighted to hear from her and I think she is happy with my delighting. They are forty miles from Yellowstone. When I asked how they liked Mt. Rushmore, she replied, “It was awesome”. I am so excited that they are having a wonderful time. Lord, continue to protect them, be on their right and left, in front and behind, above and beneath, in Jesus name.

Now this all leaves Ken and me at home alone. No, we aren’t lonely yet. We are enjoying this brief time of relief. While we love each of them with all our heart, we know that it is a heavy thing for all of us to live together. We do fairly well but do have our moments. At any rate, I’m doing things I don’t normally do when we are all together. Two days this week I did absolutely nothing. It was wonderful. I don’t feel the same kind of pressure and rush that I feel when we are all here.

I washed all the bedding from Isaiah’s bed so that everything will be clean and fresh when he returns. I just took his blankies out of the dryer. Yes, I said, “his blankies”. When Isaiah and Sydney (his twin cousin) were about seven, great grandma thought it inappropriate for those big kids to have blankets. I spoke with her about someone she and I both knew who was twenty plus that still had his blanket and seemed perfectly healthy emotionally. She wasn’t convinced. I think our attitudes about such things have changed dramatically since her and my children were young. I wouldn’t have thought of letting a child keep a blanket beyond toddler hood, either. I remember explaining to Great Grandma that if children can find solace and comfort in a rag in their bed in this crazy world, I would be in favor of it.

Isaiah has two blankets, both of which he has had since birth. They are identical except for the color. One is white and one mint green. His preference has always been the white one but when he was very little and we couldn’t find the white one, he would use the green one for a substitute. Nearly eight years ago, I had a heart virus that nearly did me in. I was hospitalized for eight days. During that time, Isaiah came to visit me and brought me his green blankie to hug and sleep with while I was there. It brings tears to my eyes as I tell it. It was a most sacrificial deed. I must confess that I found comfort in that green blanket. It was soft, smelled like Tide and Downy and more importantly, it smelled like home. It also reminded me that there was a little boy in that place I longed to go that was waiting for his grandma to come home.

Now it is we who wait for the three of them to come home. I imagine by next weekend, we will be again ready to welcome home those we love. In the in=between time, we will enjoy the lull and get as much accomplished as we can.