Daze of Summer

Well how in the world did it get to be July and almost mid-July at that?!

How many times did I hear my mother say, "Life is short" when I was growing up? Those words still play over and over in my mind; only now I know what she meant.

Last Saturday the daughter of some dear friends got married. Wife hosted the Bridesmaids Luncheon at our house on Friday. As I've written previously, we have been doing a bit of long-overdue renovation and this was the deadline. Although the major stuff was done, there were some lingering matters like hanging pictures again after the painting, placing some furniture and just some general sprucing up. This was all done by Wednesday night before the luncheon on Friday, so we finished with a little time to spare.

Wife, when hosting such an event, is in her element, but it's a lot of work. During the week of something like this, she might get on a roll and stay up way past midnight any given night. She gets really focused on her goal. I managed to work my schedule where I was gone Tuesday through Friday so I would not, ahem, get in her way.

Daughter and her friend came home on Thursday night so they could help and Older Son's girlfriend was also lending a hand. Wife said they all took their orders graciously (I wouldn't say Wife is "bossy" when in charge of such an affair, but she knows what she's doing and needs her helpers to act quickly and ask few questions). I think it turned out just lovely.

The wedding and reception were Saturday night and our whole family was there except for Younger Son, who has been at camp since June 24.

Speaking of, Younger Son and his buddy DROVE from here to Southern Missouri. This was a huge step for Wife and me and we drastically improved our prayer lives during the trip. We insisted on a phone call or text (only while he was a passenger and not driving, of course) every one to two hours. Since they took his friend's car, I kind of hoped maybe Younger Son would never get behind the wheel, but he called at one point to let us know he was about to take over. Yes, I wore out my knees. We sighed with relief when he called to announce they were safely at camp.

Wife and I, along with Daughter and her friend from school, spent July 4 at our friends' lake house. This was the third year in a row they have hosted us, along with a number of others, and it's always a great day of relaxing and visiting (I don't participate in water sports but enjoy looking on), eating some great food and enjoying our own private fireworks display.

Daughter and her friend left to go back Monday about 2 p.m. Wife and I came back in the house and when the door shut, there was the strangest echo. It was eerily quiet. There are always things to do around the house but we have spent so much of the past two months doing these things that we were not inclined to dive into anything. And it's been so blessed hot that the last thing we wanted to do was anything outside.

But the quiet was just screaming at us, so we went to an early dinner then a movie. In about a year, this will be our life, just the two of us.

I so vividly remember the days when we were in the middle of raising three children, and on the rare occasion when we found ourselves alone, we cherished the peaceful moments. We would lie in bed at night, try to talk a few minutes, then hopelessly drift off in mid-conversation. The chaos would begin again in only a few hours.

Right now we're getting a preview of life to come, with a more orderly house and more time on our hands.

Funny how just a few years ago that looked so good to me.