how time flies - Robin Lee Hatcher

My brother Rick flew into Boise from New York for a brief visit with Mom over the weekend. He wanted to stay another day, but all the Labor Day flights were sold out. So we only had Friday evening and all day Saturday with Mom. I took him to the airport at 6:15 this morning. The visit was over in a flash.

We picked up Mom at 8:30 AM on Saturday and spent the full day with her. We sat on the patio in the beautiful morning hours, we ate Mexican food for lunch at On the Border, and then we went out again to meet the extended family (14 of us this time) for dinner at a great Boise restaurant called Jakers. Such fun, and Mom loved every minute of it. She'd said she didn't want to return to the care center until 9:00 PM, but we were at the restaurant for two hours and she was worn out by the time we left at 7:30. She didn't mind a bit going back a little early. [The photo at top left (click for larger version) is just part of the dinner group: my daughter Jennifer and her husband and kids, my brother, my cousin's youngest son, my aunt, and my mom (in wheelchair).]

When I returned from dropping Rick off at the airport this morning, the house felt so empty, so silent. I missed him. So did Poppet because Rick played with her constantly while we visited. And, sadly, Mom was feeling blue today too, the let down after the joy. Please, if you think of her, say a prayer.

Rick and I talked a lot about when we were kids and what a wonderful childhood we had, and Mom took great pleasure in listening to us, in between her little catnaps. I loved reminiscing with Rick about the "good old days" of our youth. What sweet times they were. Boise was much smaller then, and kids were able to have a freedom that no right thinking parent today would allow. The world has changed so much.

Mom was widowed when I was just four months old, and while we missed having a dad and while we didn't have a lot (materially speaking) as we were growing up, we had an abundance of love from our mom, grandma, aunts, uncle, and cousins. God knows, we were blessed. I'm so thankful.

When I was in my early thirties and first published, I used to wish away the months. From the time a book is turned in, it usually takes around a year for it to go through editing and the cover to be designed and the marketing to be done, etc., etc., before it arrives in stores. Back then I was so eager to get to see my cover art, to see my books on store shelves, to see what the reviewers and readers thought that I would wish away all the months in between a book's completion and its release. But it wasn't long before I learned how quickly time passed without my wishing. It is fleeting. It's but a breath and so are we. God tells us so.

“LORD, make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.
Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath."
(Psa. 39:4-5, NASB)

May we all make the most of our days while we are able, in Jesus' name.

~robin