I miss my girls!

Our numbers are seriously depleted here at Swede Farm. Last night I drove two of our girls to the airport for the trip of a lifetime. Christin (19) and Grace (almost 17) are going to spend two whole months in Europe with my brother's family. They have been told to bring their list and that they will make sure that they get to everything on that list. I seriously doubt that my brother and sister-in-law have any idea of what they have gotten themselves in for. Here at Swede Farm we homeschool. Specifically we homeschool so that we can read and study all we want about history. World history, church history, art history, history, history, history. Can you think of a better place to go for two history lovers who have spent that past two years studying the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation?

Of course their lists also highlight their other interests...Grace, our resident horse person is jazzed about going to the Spanish Riding School while Christin is pumped about actually seeing where Martin Luther nailed those 95 theses. Thanks to a serendipitous meeting at the Bayou City Market they hope to visit a dairy goat farm in Switzerland. All in all a trip that promises to be full of rich memory making and life experiences.

They hadn't been gone more than 12 hours, though, when something came up where I called out "Grace, hey Grace I have a question for you about a breeding..." and I sent someone to go get information from Christin about how much milk LaSalle's new kids were getting at each bottle. Everyone here has specific responsibilities to tend to, usually according to their talents and goals. Grace has always been our buck person. She tends to them, orchestrates breedings, and acts as our general on-site vet in training. Christin has a soft spot for babies and this year has really come into her own in shouldering much of the responsibility of getting the babies from dripping wet eight pounders to ready-to-be-bred 80 pounders, all within a very short seven or eight months. With them gone these responsibilities have to be carried by others and this is an adjustment.

Beyond the work shuffling, though, is an adjustment that is much harder. I miss them desperately! They are such a part of the fabric of our lives that with them gone it is as if there is a huge rent in the tapestry of our day. They carry a burden beyond chores. They make me smile. Grace's acerbic wit keeps my mind sharp (well, sorta!). Christin has learned the art of the bearhug when I am down and a good cup of tea when I am frazzled. There is such reward in parenting teenagers and young adults for which I was unprepared. When we started our family all I had in mind was a baby. We lost three before we ever held our first live crying baby so that idea of a baby that cries, coos and smiles was all I saw. Somehow the view beyond infancy escaped me. Then when one baby followed another with such rapidity and astounding regularity it was easy to still focus on those baby years. Then all of a sudden I looked up and those babies had become young ladies. Beautiful young ladies, smart young ladies, serious young ladies and best of all, Godly young ladies. And what an unexpected perk...I found that these young ladies had also become my best friends. What a reward, to realize that your favorite people in the world to spend time with are your very own children.

So...now the challenge is to survive until they return. We'll manage, we will muddle through. Then they will return and all will be well. Until they leave again and again, to take other trips, marry...how do other mothers do this?!

The above pic is of Grace (left) and Christin (right) working on the concrete footing for Adonis the Bulk Tank Cooler. They did that project pretty much all by themselves. Not bad, huh?