around 9 p.m. last night, i was driving home from work and my little brother Mitchell texted me to see if Will and I wanted to come over and hot tub in my parents backyard.
given the fact he leaves for his mission to Peru in 4 days, i dropped every hopeful plan I had for the night (as in popping popcorn and watching Desperate Housewives…) and zoomed on over to spend time with him and my family.
we walked in my parents back door and saw through the window that they were all in Mitchells room so we headed in there.
right when i walked in my heart broke.
the sight i saw was heart wrenching.
his whole entire room was being packed up.
toiletries.
clothes.
suitcases.
bags.
ties.
suits.
sheets.
pants.
shoes.
everything.
how did this creep up on us so fast?
how is he old enough for this?
how will i survive 2 whole years without this amazing little brother of mine?
i sat on his bed and fought back tears as Will jumped in to help him pack and give opinions on what he should/shouldn’t bring.
then i started to help coordinate outfits and giving advice on what to NEVER wear together
(hahahaha leave it to me..)
after we were finished, we headed out to the hot tub.
just in time, Isabelle rolled down the driveway coming from errands for her upcoming wedding THIS Saturday and came and joined us.
it was a special moment as i looked around to see my family gathered around spending some peaceful, quality time together before everything changes in the near 48 hours.
my poor parents.
one daughter gets married this Saturday
one son leaves for 2 years this Tuesday
as Mitchell left the hot tub to grab something inside, i looked over to my Dad and as his head hung low he said…
“what in the world am I going to do without Mitch… this is so sad liv….”
to hear those words from my Dad’s mouth was one of the hardest things ever.
if you know my dad, you know he is one of the strongest people ever that never says stuff like that.
but i couldn’t agree more.. what will we do?
we will write him every week
we will send him care packages
we will skype with him a total of 4 times over the 2 years
we will look forward to seeing his testimony develop and grow every day
we will watch him grow up into a young man only through pictures
and last but not least, we will support him as he leaves for 2 years to change his life for the better.
however, we won’t be able to be a recipient of his hugs or laughter.
those lucky Peruvians…
i will miss that boy.
want to learn more about what a mission is? read HERE
