My wife and I had the privilege – given to us by our wonderful children – to get away for 48 hours from – well – our wonderful children. It was long enough to miss them again. And, we got away from the rest of life a bit too.
We we’re both surprised by how much our daily life had been reduced from living to coping. And, it felt like we weren’t necessarily doing a great of a job of that.
It makes sense we we’re feeling wiped out. Most of our friends our age are already empty nesting – or close to it. We’re, um, not.
We have 7 children. Our oldest daughter got married last year and we love our son-in-law. Our next daughter is planning on following her example soon – (here’s hoping) – that’s two weddings in 12 months. Our 21 year son is in college – about to transfer to a bigger one, and our 18 year old daughter graduates from High School this year. Our fifth child will be 15 next week, a 9th grader. And, nearly 5 years ago we adopted two little boys – they’re 6 and 8 now – not so little anymore. Our family is demographically and ethnically diverse, to say the least. Except for the one who’s married, we still all share the same drive way. Well, she still knows where it is.
We have 3 jobs. I have two vocations – I’m a Pastor at a small, revitalized and growing church, and, I’m a computer programmer. Between the two I “work” around 65 hours a week – but I’d put in a lot of that church time even if I weren’t a pastor. It’s my wife who does most of the work around here, though. Every meal has at least 6 of us here, and often 11 – not to mention opportunities to entertain folks from church. We have a kanban system in the laundry room – but I’m the only one around here who knows that is what it is called. She’s a logistical genius and keeps herself beautiful too.
But, we’re refreshed and living again. “Thank you”, guys, for making that possible.
We love each other a ton – our life – and especially our children. We wouldn’t change a thing and we’re grateful to God for the abundance of life he is giving us.
It’s a blast – it’s always a party! And, we’re already scheduling the next get away… 
