The clock will strike midnight

I heard this older song by Steven Curtis Chapman on the radio the other day and immediately thought about my girls. The song is Cinderella.  If you have kids and haven't ever heard it, well let me say you will need some Kleenex.

 I was thinking about how my girls are grown up and all living their lives.  We are still a part of them but for the most part they have their own families and jobs, in laws and pets, all the responsibilities of adults.  They don't need us. Life is not as it was when they were young and we were responsible for them.  Don't get me wrong, Tom and I enjoy our lives as empty nesters.  We have fun doing our own stuff.  Getting together with friends, hiking, traveling and visiting our grandkids and all that fun stuff you do when your kids are grown and out of the house.  We don't have to pay for braces, new clothes, college or food for them anymore.  It's like we got a huge raise when our babies left us.  But I miss them so often.  I miss the noisy, crazy schedule. I miss the laughter and even the tears. I miss cooking for 5 or more if friends came over.  I miss planning parties and teaching them to drive.  I miss a full house. I miss it all.

My three girls Emily, Sheila, and Alisha

With our Oldest daughter and her family back in the USA for a few months we have enjoyed time together with our whole family.  However, I am realizing that it isn't easy to coordinate everyone's schedule and accommodate everyone for things we want to do anymore, especially with our youngest daughter and her family living 4 hours away.  Our middle daughter is a teacher and her schedule isn't very flexible and even though she has time to take off, she struggles with leaving her class, and getting a substitute can be more work than just going herself.  We did arrange a mountain weekend a few weeks ago and everyone managed to get off and hang out in a beautiful mountain cabin and enjoy beautiful leaves and all kinds of fun stuff together.  But I realized something while I was there enjoying my family.  The larger our family gets the harder it will be for us all to have many moments like that together. Even the holidays are a struggle to arrange.

Our whole family at Beacon Heights off the Parkway in NC.

All this makes me a little sad but I also am thankful that my girls have great godly husbands that lead them with love and a servants heart.  I am thankful that they have godly values and that my girls and their spouses do enjoy being with each other. ( Oh the crazy fun they come up with.) I am thankful that they all  have good work ethics and are giving and caring adults who think about the needs of others.  They are living a life of adventure and faith.  They are mine!  They are God's! Many years ago, Tom and I dedicated each of those girls to the Lord.  We knew then that our years to hold them, direct and lead them were going to be short. But I don't think any parent realizes how quickly that time flies, until they are gone.  So while you have Cinderella, (or the Prince)take time to be with them.  REALLY be with them.  Because before you know it the clock will strike midnight and they'll be gone.