So Close

Have you seen the funny video where the Mom demonstrates to her family how they can put their dishes in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink? She takes one step from the sink to the dishwasher and shows how close they are and how easy it would be for them to actually place their dirty dishes in the dishwasher. It hit home at my house, and I found it hilarious.

          With two teenage boys in the house, there are many things that are “so close.” The first are these clothes on the floor.

 One son needed his work uniform washed. He got so close to placing them IN the washing machine. But, nope, they are on the floor. Seriously, just a little more umph in his toss and they would be in the machine.

          Then, there are these glasses. As in the funny video, they are so close to making it IN the dishwasher. It is only one step away. Why didn’t they just put them in the dishwasher instead of leaving them on the counter?

          As another school year ends, I realized our sons are so close to graduating. Two our our chicks have already left our nest, and we know how fast these last few years will fly by. We are so close to finishing our parenting season. It has been long, almost 28 years, with two more to go. As Gretchen Rubin says in her book, The Happiness Project, “the days are long, but the years are short.” Some days have been long. Some mornings trying to get them ready for school have been long. Some nights trying to get them to bed have been long, both the toddler nights and the teenage nights. Looooong.

          But, the years have flown by, and we are so close to being empty nesters, assuming both graduate from high school and actually leave the nest.

          They are so close to becoming young adults. They are so close to making it through 12 years of school, which has had it’s share of difficult years. They are so close to getting their driver’s license and driving without a panicked parent, gripping the dashboard sitting next to them.

          I know these last few years with them are just as important as the first few. They are becoming young men. They don’t need their Mom as much as they did when they were little, and it is a balancing act for me as to how much to let them go, and how much to reel them in. But, I want to finish well. I want to savor these last few years. Very soon, there will not be any late night/early morning conversations in the kitchen like this one:

12:30am

Jeremiah: Don’t forget your night job, Josiah, as a bungalow.

Me: What?

Jeremiah: You know, a bungalow.

Josiah: That’s not what it is. The word is jungle-low.

Me: Ummm, do you mean gigolo?

It is hard to trash talk your brother when you don’t have the right words!

          Aside from the bungalows, these tall, lanky teenage boys are so close to becoming adults. I am grateful that, even though my parenting season is so close to ending, I know their Heavenly Father is not finished with them.

          I trust that He is faithful and will complete the work He has started in them.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6