Monday, December 01, 2008

The sight of taillights disappearing into the distance

For the past 7 days we have seen a great deal of activity around our house. Instead of the usual 2 bodies brushing past each other every once in a while, we've hosted an additional 18 so that as many as 20 people were not only brushing past but bumping into each other once in a while. It has been a joyous time getting to visit with 4 of our 6 children and 8 of our 13 grandchildren. My sister and brother-in-law from Utah were also able to fly out for the holiday.

Of course, now everyone has returned home. Most of the house has been returned to its former condition with the exception of the Christmas decorations put up for us. Our house seems overly large for the two of us. Or does it? Now that I think about it, there are dozens of memories crowding each of the rooms and bumping into each other and the two of us. We keep an assortment of toys for the kids to play with and it's easy to look at them packed neatly into the corner or in their proper drawers and remember how they were actively strewn about the house or used in a play that only the very young understand. We see the skateboard/scooters and instantly visualize the boys laying back on them while they whoosh down our driveway in a child's version of an extreme street-luge event.

We ponder the overly large waffle iron given to us by all our kids as a Christmas present but then, being too much of a temptation, opened and used for at least two breakfasts during this past week. We watch the sky which threatens rain and are reminded of the work done cleaning out our rain gutters and mowing and trimming the lawn.

Yes, the crowd is gone but the house is far from empty. Far from empty.

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