My two youngest have flown away

It's always a feeling of loss when children come to visit and then leave again so soon. My youngest child and youngest grandchild boarded a flight taking them away from here this evening. So sad.

Yet I know where they are going. First to visit other relatives in Utah who love them as much as I do, and then back to Alan in Ohio who has missed them all week long. Thank you for sharing them with us, Alan!

Yes, I feel sad, but also very glad. I know they are a happy little family and they are wonderful, loving, and intelligent parents. Elsie is a very lucky little girl. I have no worries for her at all. I'm also extremely thankful for modern communication methods. I sometimes think about generations upon generations of families that had to be separated from loved ones and could only communicate by unreliable mail systems, and often did not get to see one another for years if at all. How happy I am that we live in a different time when voice, images, and even travel are easy and accessible.

I find great joy talking with our children on the east coast on a weekly basis, and we also have the local bunch who are always delighted to see us. It's just great to have family! No matter where they are in this world, I think of them often and love them all immensely. A quote that is attributed to Elizabeth Stone says: "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." I did this five times, and yet the number continues to multiply when spouses and grandchildren are added to the equation. Good thing my heart is expandable!

Happy journey, Sarah and Elsie! It was wonderful to have you here with us this week!