Miles and miles of change

When we moved here to the rural village of our dreams, those two lovely women were my neighbors. Someone's kitchen was always brewing tea. Someone knew what to do about a chicken nesting in the woodpile. Someone's need to run an errand was always everyone's opportunity for a play date.

So four years ago, our country road was full of children and friendship, thanks to their families' (then) six combined children and our family's (then) three little ones. Soon the country dream was complete when another family of friends with four children moved on the road. Socialization? Who needed to go to town for that?

But in the inevitable way of things, change visited when I least expected it.

First our neighbors across the road moved away to a small town, not too far, for a teaching position. Then the friends a little further down the lane moved states away, thousands of miles, for the military. And we lost our third family friends to their move just months later. My children were heartbroken. To tell the truth, I was too.

And of course more change is always on the horizon. The first family to leave our little village is now planning a bigger move, to the mission field of Haiti. I can't think of a better family to do so and I am so proud to know them but so selfishly sad they'll be gone soon.

So when our military friends were home for two weeks last month, coinciding with our missionary friends' planned departure, we had to pretend it was old times. We had to camp out in the Suite family front yard with three times as many children as adults. We had to call out all the grandparents. We had to have a minute with our friends.

We had to count our blessings. Embrace the small beauties that come from big and sometimes painful change. Love on our friends while they're close enough to hug.

Admire the babies that have been born since we were all neighbors. Eat a lot of s'mores.

Build some memories until the next time.

Change is hard. But I'm learning to live in it.



Thanks for visiting, friends. May God bless your paths and make them straight. May there be more visits like that one.

(And next time you're here, we'll have a new baby to celebrate. Because sometimes change is purely good.)