Well, it just got really real. Came home yesterday for a short last visit to
leave my car and do yet more laundry, this time all the bed linens because it
will be MONTHS before I get around to that chore again.
My daughter called and made arrangements to stop by
and spend a little time--it will be two-and-a-half months before we see them
again (unless we can talk them into a trip to Florida!!!). I could hear Saul's sweet voice calling to me
as the car door opened; his little feet hitting the ground running.
"Kiss Box for Oma! Kiss Box for Oma!"
With a huge smile on his face, he handed me a little brown box with the words
"Kiss Box" on the top; oh, the tears came then. Let me tell you about the "Kiss
Box."
For Saul's first Christmas, I found a wonderful book
(I think at my friend Connie's school's book sale), called "The Kiss
Box" by Bonnie Verburg. It is a
story about separation and love. A young
bear cub is feeling anxious about having to be separated from his mother and
between them, they figure out a way to hold their kisses in a homemade box so
that one bear does not ever feel too far away from the other. When feeling lonely, they can bring out their
"kiss box" and look inside and know that Mama (or Dada, or daughter or
son or grandchildren) are just a kiss away.
So, yes, the tears were falling because this
announced the advent of our longest separation to date.
I am excited for the trip in many ways and a little
anxious, too, but my heart breaks for the loves of my life I am leaving
behind. You've learned that I'm a
terribly sensitive soul; my children and their children are the reasons
why.
Holding my "Kiss Box" to
my heart this morning, I am looking into the great unknown surrounded with shiny new armor.
������
ReplyDelete