Over this next week, you won’t be hearing from me. My son and his family are coming to visit me in Georgia. I am very excited about this because it’s been too long since I’ve seen them last, and they have never seen my condo where I now live. My head is spinning with ideas to feed a mob because, of course, my daughter and her family will want to be near. There will be eleven of us. I pray for stamina!

I well remember when I used to look in the rear view mirror of my car and see three little faces. Now, the trick is to get those three faces and their families together in one place. As their families grow and their savings shrink proportionately, it becomes more and more of a challenge, each year.

Once my family arrives, I am planning some activities:  swimming, to see fireworks and to watch an Atlanta Braves’ game. When I reserved our tickets today, I looked at my receipt: we are in the ‘DIAMOND CORNER!’ Isn’t that fitting?

I am so excited for the hellos! My Uber friend will be picking my family up at the airport. I will be waiting outside to catch a first glimpse of them….and to catch what my husband used to call the ‘p’ factor from Bijoux, my little fluffy marshmallow. I prefer for her to piddle on the sidewalk because, once she sees them, there’s no holding it in. She’s never met them, and she, like I, is an extravert!

Those hugs and grins from my grandchildren will be my DIAMONDS.  I imagine their cousins will be lined up, excitedly waiting for a first glimpse of them. The goodbyes? I don’t want to think about them….but my plan is to go have a glass or two of wine that evening. That’s my tradition when I have to say goodbye. It hurts my heart. I know my kids, now grown, can easily put up with it, but my grandchildren? Saying goodbye to grandma and the cousins will be so difficult. There will be tears. One day, we will never be parted again, but, for now, we have our own paths to walk. We must press on. I get that. My kids get that. My grandkids? Absolutely not.

There have been so many goodbyes in my life. When people leave, I am left with a gaping hole where they used to be. Meanwhile, they, whether in a new community or a new Heaven, are joyously investigating their own new frontier. I’d much rather be the one leaving than the one left behind. One of the best things about Heaven is never having to say goodbye again. I heard a podcast on Heaven from Rick Warren a couple of weeks ago. He said that Heaven is going to be flat out AMAZING, that there are simply no words to describe it (so the Bible tells us) BUT he said that, if you ponder what ISN’T in Heaven, there’s enough to thrill you! No death. No worries. No anxieties. No fears. No arguements. No catastrophes. No bad weather. No starvation. No meanness. No being forced to do work that is meaningless, difficult and unfulfilling. No misunderstandings. No politics! No “I can’t afford to do that/go there because I don’t have enough money/can’t get off work.”  As you can see, my mind races, joyfully, over these things, as if I were skipping over stepping stones. I’ve done this mental exercise a time or two!

As I continue my planning this evening, I wish you a summer filled with gratitude to warm your heart, sunshine to encourage your soul, rain to refresh your spirit,  and an abiding contentment in your very being, from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.