You could not have told me any of this two years ago. I could not have understood it. I could not have known. There is a list of things I could not have known. I could not have known how much I actually love sunny days and mild weather. I could not have known that my obsession with all things water and drinking and rain and floating would end here, at the Pacific Ocean, which is big enough to keep me satisfied (for now). I could not have known that I would live on the other side of the country from my oldest daughter and her husband and I could not have known what it would feel like to miss someone like this. I could not have known how little I care about the price of gas. Oh wait, I’ve always known that. I’ve never cared and you can’t make me.
But of all the things I could not have known, tonight I will only focus on one. I could not have known that my middle child; the mysterious, intense, philosophical, musical, stormy, quiet, unconventional one, would find love and find it so perfectly. It is one of those things that parents hope for but don’t really believe is possible.
So yesterday, we went to the beach and the two of them went out in a kayak that belongs to a friend…
…to a boat anchored out in the ocean that belongs to a friend…
…and they climbed onboard and they were so far away that we couldn’t see them and then they came back…
…and Sadie’s face looked really, really happy when she got out of the kayak…
…and she came onshore and showed me this…
…a ring that he made himself because, well, he just does stuff like that…you know…makes beautiful things…
…she said yes!…
…and we all celebrated…
What else is there to say? It appears that 19 is the magic age in our family (no pressure, Grace!). It appears that the things I don’t know can turn out to be wonderful surprises. It appears that we are having a wedding feast this year and I will once again be the mother of the bride. I am thrilled. We are thrilled. We are truly and humbly thankful for God’s goodness to our family.
Fierce Peace 