November 18, 2002
DOWN HOME:
House fills up with good folks
___The flashing sign out by our front door says "Vacancy." I feel sort of like a hotel operator after tourist season, or maybe a restaurant owner when the convention closes down.
___Lindsay, our oldest daughter, came back to town to celebrate her birthday, and she brought friends. Lots of friends. A houseful of friends. But they're gone now.
___Not so long ago--Aug. 20, to be exact--Joanna and I dropped Lindsay off for her freshman year at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. We cried when we said goodbye, of course. But even before Jo and I arrived back home in Lewisville, Jo heard laughter in the background of her cell phone when she called the dorm room to see how things were going.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___Lindsay's been great ever since. She loves college, but what's not to love?
___She lives in a dorm with access to friends virtually around the clock. We live about 200 miles away, so she doesn't have to account to us for her time every day. The campus is full of organizations whose sole purpose is to make sure students have a grand time. Jo and I know scads of grownups there, so Lindsay can fall back on friends if she really needs something. And even classes--which possibly could be construed as work--mostly cover subjects she thinks are interesting.
___If she could just trade "the caf" for Mama's kitchen, life would be about perfect.
___Jo and I especially have been grateful Lindsay has made friends with some nice young people. We prayed about this before she left for school and doubled up our prayers during those early weeks of class. From what we saw the weekend "back home," those prayers have been answered.
___Lindsay brought Becca and Jaimee and the other Lindsey (who grew up being friends with our Lindsay and lives about a mile away but stayed at our house, apparently so she wouldn't miss anything) and Aaron home for the weekend. Mostly, they slept and changed clothes at our house. But they also had to eat, and we had free food, so they came around when they weren't shopping or going to the movie.
___We had a wonderful weekend. We laughed and talked and enjoyed their company.
___Funny how a parent's "antenna" rotates on overdrive when your children's friends are around. You listen for the usual--where they're from, information about their families, what they plan to study. But you really listen for deeper clues to their personalities--what they value, their faith in Christ, how they treat people, their sense of self.
___For years, friends have told me the hardest part of parenting is letting go--turning loose of precious children and allowing them to take off on their own. But one of the most gratifying parts of parenting is watching them choose wisely and make the kind of friends you'd select for them, if only you could.
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