The entry is "Helping".
This morning, on the way to church, we will be stopping in to see Janna and the children for the last official time on county soil. They have been monumental in our life here since they arrived ... they have been our pastors at PECFMC, part of worship team together, Kev's cohorts-in-crime watching "West Wing" and other shows, purveyors of many seasons of "Gilmore Girls" (spawning a family addiction :-) ...); they have been our neighbours, only a mile away (how many people can you call up in a rural farming community to borrow cumin or turmeric, or REALLY good coffee???); Janna has provided her home as a sanctuary to knitters and other crafters once a month for quite some time. They served us big time when Kevin was hospitalized; our kids got off the bus for over a week on Fry Road, their other home. Janna has been our emergency contact for all things educational since the kids started school. They have supported and encouraged our children, providing references and baseball gloves and adult conversation and input that is not parental (SO important!) and chances to babysit and just help out occasionally. They have been, and are, our friends. 2/3 or their children have been born here, and we adore them all, and watching them grow up has been a delight. Alison has been a lunch buddy for Ben at school this year, and was able to assist his bus buddy many times because Alison knew Ben and what made him tick. Mary has just started to walk, and is talking up a storm, and it's so hard knowing that we won't be able to see that continue. And Eli ... well ... let's just say this is hard. It's hard enough as an adult to say "good-bye" but we've done this before; God moves people on to new things and projects, and it is all good in the end. But my kids are just at the beginning of their journeys, and this won't be easy for them. How do we encourage them that when God moves folks away, it is big-picture good, when little-picture it is so painful.
Here are Janna and I and all the kids on our last County morning ...
We are grateful that Janna blogs, so we will still be privy to Cylka goings-on. And we are thankful for the time that they lived in our community. We are also thrilled that their new home is a mere hop-skip-and-jump from the 401 going through Toronto, and that we already have plans to stop in later this month :-). And of course, as Kev pursues his Free Methodist ordination, he will have many occasions to hang with Steve at events, or in their spare room. So it IS good.
*Sigh*. Bye, Cylka family! We love you all, every single one of us. *Sniff*
2 comments:
This is me in a big, salty puddle.
What a beautiful post. I keep thinking about the overly-played, cliched Micheal W. Smith song from my camp days, but IT IS how I feel:
"Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them . . . though it's hard to let you go, in the Father's hands we know, that a lifetime's not too long to live as friends."
Love you all!
I still love that song, perhaps because it was before my time (wasn't listening to THAT kind of music when it came out ;-)). And it's true.
I pray your move goes smoothly and that your kiddoes continue to be excited about all the new changes!
Signed,
another salty puddle
Post a Comment