This past Sunday we had a open house, good bye party for our son, Noah and his wife Kristen. It was at best bitter sweet...............
Sherrie, my wife, baked for 3 days, she had decided that it would be a dessert open house. We had cookies, cake, pies, candy, diabetic cake, the table was laden with all of the goodies. Myself, I was in charge of the beverages. I made my famous citrus punch, chilled the wine, made coffee, iced tea, and hot tea. I Made sure all the glasses were spotless, my OCD kicking in , I hate glasses with spots.
I was also responsible for the fresh flower arrangements. You cannot have a party in my humble opinion without fresh flowers, it just is the exclamation point on the table.
So we got everything ready, and actually we were done early, note to self this does not happen very often, more often than not we are putting the final touches on things as the first guest arrives. You know the old adage that we work better under pressure, NOT. But we do it anyway.
So we get to sit and talk a bit as we wait for the kids to arrive and then the guests.
We talk about what this move will do for our family structure, and holidays, and just talk. I mention that we will not be able to call them on Saturday mornings and say, Hey you want to meet us at our favorite local place for breakfast.... no more calling for impromptu invitations to dinner and all the things that we will not be doing once they move. And just in the nick of time, the door bell rings, I was starting to feel sad, gloomy, and viola!!! saved by the door bell. Noah and Kristen arrive, and with them excitement for this move, excitement for a new adventure, excitement for a huge promotion with the new job. I try to grab onto their excitement, be happy for them, I want to be as excited as they are.
The door bell continues to ring, old friends come by, family comes by, new friends come by and it is non stop from 2 pm all the way til 8:30 pm. Well wishes, hand shakes, hugs, kisses all around everyone sharing in the kids excitement, and I watch.
I watch my son, so proud of himself, and his wife that they are in this economy moving upward in his career, moving up in the salary structure. I watch as family and friends share the happiness and excitement with them. And for a moment in time I stop and tell myself, this is what you raised him for, this is what you always wanted for your son, for him to be happy in his career, for him to find someone to love and share his life with, for him to be independent. I take it all in and I smile for the first time that day I smile, because I feel for a moment in time that I might have got it right, made some good decisions along the way as he was growing up. I felt proud of the man my little boy has become, felt proud of the person he was and will continue to be. Felt proud of the person he chose for his wife, Kristen is his yang in the yin and yang of life, they fit together, they love each other.
And at the end of the day, end of the party, I knew they would be alright, that in this big world, these 2 kids will move on and make their mark on the world. I am so proud, and yet sad at the same time, this too will pass, we will make the trip to Fresno many times to see them, see their new life, and be proud of who they have become and smile as I watch them make their way in this journey called life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis
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