The end of the beginning

This is it, folks. This is the day we shove the oldest chick out of the nest in our quest to empty it.

We leave as soon as the truck is packed--Jim just needs to put the topper on the truck bed. Katie sure has a lot of, er, stuff. And Ben, who is hitching a ride with Katie is taking his DRUM SET. Yes, an entire drum set!!! The bass drum and snare are in the back seat of Katie's car and all the poles and widgets for the frame and the seat and the bass pedal are in the bed of Jim's truck. Like I said to Jim, boy, I'm glad Katie plays the flute and piccolo.

For those of you who haven't said your goodbyes to Katie, well, you missed your chance. Send her an email, if you like. Email me or leave a comment on this post and I'll send you her email addy.

As I said, this is the end of the beginning. The beginning of a marriage--Jim's and mine. We started off early with the babies and now, one of them is leaving. For twenty years, nearly, Jim and I have been raising kids. And now that time is coming to a close. It'll close very slowly, since we have four more to wave goodbye to, but I see that door swinging back this-away. I know it will never completely close, because there is parenting to do at any age and circumstance (or so I gather from the way my mom keeps trying to tell me what to do--and by the way, THANKS mother for watching the other kids while we take Katie to Utah), but our time as caretakers of Katie is now mostly at an end. It is time for her to begin her adventures as heroine of her own story. Her story is not mine so much anymore. I'll be a peripheral (but still important) character.

Almost time to leave. I asked Jim if he was sad that we are "losing" Katie and he just motioned with his hands--a little yes, a little no. I don't think he wanted to actually say it out loud for fear that he might break from his normal characteristic "whatever" mode and do something I've only seem him do once in our life. And something which I am doing right now. But don't tell anybody.