Wednesday, August 25, 2010
skype
Daniel now has Skype. If you aren't familiar with Skype, it is a free way to communicate across the internet. Just go to www.skype.com to download the free software. It is very user-friendly and easy to use. Also, if you have a webcam on your computer, Daniel can see you and vice versa. It is helping to cure a lot of the loneliness and homesickness that he feels, particularly in the evenings and on weekends. Daniel's username on Skype is: Daniel.George.Hart
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
some years are harder than others
As I dropped Abbie off at school yesterday morning and drove on into work, I reflected back on the past 14 first days of school – back to when Daniel started kindergarten. Abbie started 6th grade this year, and this was the first year that Abbie didn’t want me to walk with her to her first class. She is becoming so independent. My “baby” is growing up. I also reflected on the fact that next year, she will enter junior high, which I remember as the most treacherous years of my education (and Daniel’s). Although it is a year away for Abbie, the anxiety still overwhelms me sometimes.
I thought back to Daniel’s first day of kindergarten. Lee and I took our son to his classroom and the teacher asked Daniel “if he had anything for [her].” Daniel told her, “No.” Then I realized that she was asking for his school supplies and told Daniel to give them to her, so Daniel opened his backpack and shook his supplies out at the teacher’s feet. I knew then that it was going to be a long year! By the end of the first day of school, his teacher called me and said that we “needed to do something.” That afternoon, he was put on the wrong bus home. It was every kindergarten mother’s worst nightmare. I thought to myself, “It has got to get easier! Next year, I will be better prepared.”
However, each year when I have dropped my children at school, there has been some anxiety in one form or another. Sometimes it is as minor as, “will she make new friends since she knows no one in her class?” And other years more severe as, “what can I do to protect him from the bullies?” But each year I have lovingly placed my children into the hands of the school system and trusted God to protect them. And God has been faithful to do so!
After Daniel graduated, I realized that there were no more “first days of school” for him and breathed a sigh of relief … and sadness for that chapter of our life had ended. I knew that he had become a man, and I thought that many of my responsibilities as his mother had ended. I soon realized that there would be more “first days” – his first day at work, the first time I put him on a plane to fly halfway across the world to do missions work, and the first day that I watched him walk around the corner to board a bus that would take him to Army basic training. Each of these firsts came with their own sets of challenges and varying degrees of anxiety. And I think to myself again, “It has got to get easier!”
Daniel has overcome and exceeded everyone’s expectations with each new “first.” He has experienced new firsts since arriving at Fort Carson – some more difficult than others. (I’m flying to Fort Carson over Labor Day weekend to help him with his first car purchase.) There are still many more “first days” to come. I think about other “firsts” that are in Daniel’s future – in particular, his first deployment. And I think to myself again, “this is the most difficult ‘first’ yet!” But I believe, as always, GOD will be faithful to protect him, and that gives me peace!
I reflect today realizing that my job as Daniel’s parent has not ended. My responsibility for his everyday needs has passed, but my duty to love him and support him is never-ending. I pray for him daily, and I trust God to protect him.
I thought back to Daniel’s first day of kindergarten. Lee and I took our son to his classroom and the teacher asked Daniel “if he had anything for [her].” Daniel told her, “No.” Then I realized that she was asking for his school supplies and told Daniel to give them to her, so Daniel opened his backpack and shook his supplies out at the teacher’s feet. I knew then that it was going to be a long year! By the end of the first day of school, his teacher called me and said that we “needed to do something.” That afternoon, he was put on the wrong bus home. It was every kindergarten mother’s worst nightmare. I thought to myself, “It has got to get easier! Next year, I will be better prepared.”
However, each year when I have dropped my children at school, there has been some anxiety in one form or another. Sometimes it is as minor as, “will she make new friends since she knows no one in her class?” And other years more severe as, “what can I do to protect him from the bullies?” But each year I have lovingly placed my children into the hands of the school system and trusted God to protect them. And God has been faithful to do so!
After Daniel graduated, I realized that there were no more “first days of school” for him and breathed a sigh of relief … and sadness for that chapter of our life had ended. I knew that he had become a man, and I thought that many of my responsibilities as his mother had ended. I soon realized that there would be more “first days” – his first day at work, the first time I put him on a plane to fly halfway across the world to do missions work, and the first day that I watched him walk around the corner to board a bus that would take him to Army basic training. Each of these firsts came with their own sets of challenges and varying degrees of anxiety. And I think to myself again, “It has got to get easier!”
Daniel has overcome and exceeded everyone’s expectations with each new “first.” He has experienced new firsts since arriving at Fort Carson – some more difficult than others. (I’m flying to Fort Carson over Labor Day weekend to help him with his first car purchase.) There are still many more “first days” to come. I think about other “firsts” that are in Daniel’s future – in particular, his first deployment. And I think to myself again, “this is the most difficult ‘first’ yet!” But I believe, as always, GOD will be faithful to protect him, and that gives me peace!
I reflect today realizing that my job as Daniel’s parent has not ended. My responsibility for his everyday needs has passed, but my duty to love him and support him is never-ending. I pray for him daily, and I trust God to protect him.
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