Letting Go ...... Again

So today I am somewhat melancholy.  In fact, I really don't want the day to end, because it means that Hunter will no longer be living in our house.  He is leaving today to go back to school at USU.  Tonight he will stay in Ogden with my parents and then head up to Logan in the morning to check into the dorm, unpack, and all the other things he needs to do to get settled before school starts on Monday.

Normally we would all be helping him move, but the younger children are back in school and have commitments and Wil has to work, so Hunter will be loading his possessions into the back of his truck and heading north alone.  I know he is looking forward to the "cooler" temperatures - the high today in Logan is expected to be 95 F, compared to the 108 F we are expected to reach here.  I wonder if he will still be as glad when winter hits.

I am really grateful Hunter waited till today to leave, even though I know it will probably make things more hectic for him.  It was nice having him home as long as possible after being gone for two years serving an LDS mission in the Montana Billings Mission.  This month sure has flown by.  Within six months Wil will be leaving on his mission and then Jon will will leave on his mission 18 months after that and before Wil gets home, so this last month was probably the last time all of my children will be living under the same roof together.

So I guess this is what it feels like to really have your children leave home.  I think of the number of times my parents have watched as Rick and I loaded our belongings in a car, trailer or truck and headed off.  Many of those times one of the trucks would be driven by my dad, but I can now see how hard it was for my mom to see us go.  I keep telling myself that Logan isn't that far away and I will see him again in a couple of weeks when we take a trip north to Lagoon, but that isn't making today any easier.

I think it is just as hard for Rick to not be there to help with the move.  Rick has to go to Northern Utah next week for some meetings, so he asked Hunter if it would be okay to drive up one evening and take Hunter to dinner.  I think this was a very sneaky way for Rick to check up on his son, make sure Hunter had a decent meal and pretend that we all didn't know Rick was really trying to check up on his son.  At least I will be able to get a first-hand report of the condition of the apartment and Rick will make sure things are up to standard before he leaves so he can give me a good report.  It will also be a way to get whatever is forgotten today to Logan in a timely fashion.

Our family spent our last evening together having dinner and then watching Wipeout and Big Brother.  There was much laughing, cringing and arm-chair quarterbacking involved; a real bonding experience.  It was awesome and so normal for our family.