The Empty House

They've all departed, and once again, the house seems too big and too empty. 

It was wonderful to have everyone home, though. I enjoyed the time with the grands. 

The first to head out was Cara. Dylan and I drove her to the airport at 2:30 in the morning. It was hard to leave her there. Time just flies by quickly. Every visit seems too short, and this visit was jam packed with happy celebrations to include a wedding. 

We dropped her off and were back home shortly after 6 am. Dylan crashed on the couch and I went back to bed for an hour. The girls were up at 7, and I did not want to miss any of my last moments with them. 

The rest of the morning was spent gathering their stuff together. Dylan observed, "The smaller the person, the more stuff they need to bring along." True.

They had a quick lunch and then they were off too. They tried to time their departure to coincide with their youngest's nap time. If she took her regular two hour nap, they'd be nearly half way home by the time she woke up. She's not a great traveler, and when she is unhappy, she makes sure that everyone within earshot understands this. 

We walked to a restaurant yesterday, all of us.  My oldest daughter and her significant other and my grandson. My son and his wife and the baby in a stroller, the oldest skipping along, gathering leaves and trying to sound out the words on the signs we passed. My youngest. Tim and I. It was like a little parade. 

There were a lot of small moments to treasure and hold close and I will be forever grateful for them. 

Cara arrived back at her home at about the same time that Dylan and his family got back to their own home. As for Tim and I, well, not a lot got accomplished today in our own home. We are both tired, but happy.