There They Go, Too

A year ago I said goodbye to my son. He was leaving to serve a mission in Taiwan,  teaching the people of Taiwan about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's been a good year, with the exception of a bike theft, two auto/bike accidents (both involving Bruce getting hit by the auto), and a bike crash that caused a chipped tooth, a concussion and some short-term memory loss. He assured us he's fine and only told us about it after he'd been cleared by the mission medical staff. But having a son on a mission brings with it a bundle of feelings and concerns that I try to fold up as small as possible and tuck away in my sock drawer in the interest of exercising faith.

Today I moved several more socks out of the drawer and added another bundle of feelings and concerns to the drawer. My parents left today for their second senior couple mission. This one is six months shorter than the last but feels different. Maybe it's because we're all older and time feels more fleeting or maybe it's because I already feel like I'm handling enough missing right now with the missing of Bruce, but this time I feel a heavier ache and a greater longing for them to be close.

The bundles of worry, missing and sacrifice feel pretty big right now. I'll probably do a better job of tucking them away and putting on a happy face in the coming days, but right now I'm having trouble getting the drawer closed.