UNSPOKEN

As a 50 something woman with a "baby" who is a senior in high school and clearly ready to spread his wings, I found myself wandering around some yesterday...what to do next...

This is a very odd feeling for someone who has been "on the go" and raising babies for the last 21 years. And to think, in approximately one hundred and eighty days, our last one will graduate high school. Graduate...now that is a funny word in and of itself. Earlier today, I was at the grocery store and the bottled water had been moved to the baby aisle, which explains why I found myself on this aisle full of diapers, pull-ups, jar baby food and an item called "graduates for preschoolers". This caught my interest because when I hear the word graduate, all I allow myself to envision is our son in a blue cap and gown. Now the baby industry is trying to make us Moms think about this even sooner, with a snack for two year olds!
Just after I discovered this new product for preschool-aged children, I nearly ran into another mom that lives a few streets over from me. "How are you doing?", I exclaimed, "I mean, how are you really doing?". For as I looked into her face, I easily recalled that this friend had a daughter our daughter's age and a son, one year older than ours, which meant that, just three months ago, she had witnessed her last child's graduation. She was precious to take a few minutes out to share details about her son's move to a local college and all the changes that she had experienced in this short window of time. She encouraged me as my eyes tried to well up with tears, sharing my concerns, sharing my thoughts. After speaking with this friend for a few short minutes, my steps were lighter.
On the way home from the grocery store, I heard a Jaci Valesquez song on the radio and one of the lines keeps coming back to my mind: "Don't leave your heart unspoken." To me, this means that when our hearts are heavy, we should share with God and other trustworthy friends all that is going on there in our hearts.

Let's not leave our hearts unspoken.