Graduation Party

We celebrated our son, Joseph's, graduation from high school last night with a big party. I am sitting here knowing I have got to tackle the mountain of dishes and vacuum the cake crumbs and food bits out of the carpet and then scrub the counters and tables. But instead of doing that I find myself just sitting. Sometimes when a party is over, that peace I feel from finally being done with all the planning and preparation, from not running out of food during the party, from knowing that friends and family had a good time, from seeing Joe's classmates celebrating with him, that kind of peace, resting amid the aftermath mess, makes me want to linger. I don't know why that is, maybe it is because this mess is all that remains of the party and I didn't want the day to end. Now, Mike and I have another child heading off to college in the fall, but there are times to move on and times to linger and I think I will sit a bit more to hold on to the memories of yesterday, but most importantly to hold onto my son before he moves on to his next big day: when we drop him off at college, hug him good-bye and drive away. My prayer for him, that we always prayed with our children is: God hold all our children in the palm of your hand, please talk to them and let them know how much you love them, please listen to them and hear and answer their prayers, keep them safe from harm and guide them to do Your will all the days of their lives.

And God please let my son know when to linger and rest in your presence when he begins his new life, with new friends in college.

God's peace be with you.

Laurie