Sam Flies to PA--And When a Mother Has to Let Go

 Wednesday Sam was busy packing to make another flying trip to Pennsylvania for a few days.

I found his boots sitting neatly by the woodstove to stay warm until 2 a.m. when Sam was getting up to leave for the airport. 

The temperature was close to zero, and he left almost an hour early because of the snow and bad roads. Then his plane was delayed two hours anyway. 

But he wasn't about to miss this plane.

He had a very special reason for going that involved one very special person,

and although he took along some nice things for his sister, 

this other special person was not his sister! :) :)

Several of us sent along a few things for Crystal.

Crystal has been homesick and busy and tired and overwhelmed at college and sick a lot.

So Rose and Hannah knitted baby booties for her!!! :) :)

Actually, the booties are for my newest and youngest baby niece, Eliana, Gabriel and Elizabeth's baby. Rose knitted the purple ones, and Hannah knitted the light green and pink ones.

I sent along a Christmas CD, a peach colored top to wear for autumn, and some decorations for a bulletin board, although she already did the required bulletin board for her teaching methods class, I think. She had to do a math-related bulletin board and also come up with 50 different ideas for teaching math for her Teaching Math class.

Rose also made a cute little homemade candle in a little glass jar.

After gathering our things to pack into Sam's suitcase, I found his boots, as I said, sitting by the woodstove.

I decided they needed some touching up, so I did that for him as he packed.

I watched him weigh his suitcase.

And I gave him a goodbye hug because I was not planning to get up at two in the morning when he left!

I watched father and son hug, too. 

I told him, "I wish I had lots of words of wisdom," but I didn't have very many--
just a couple advices, 
and at the last minute I was worrying about little things like did he take along socks that did not have holes in them?
Mothers are like that. 
Until Jonathan asked slyly, "Do you need to go along with him???"
Dads are like that.
Well, I wish I could have gone with him, but he is almost twenty-two years old, and this mother had to let go.

By now he is about 2000 miles away, and I must place Him in Other Loving Hands,

the Hands that Won't Let Him Go.