Brunch

This morning I left for another trip.  I had to be out the door by 10:50 am.  Too early for my family’s liking, but late enough for Kristen, Tammie and I to gather around the dining room table for brunch.  Kristen had requested we do so the day before.  You need to know up front our family is not a breakfast family, and with the exception of Christmas morning, we do not participate in brunch either.  Needless to say, this request was a significant request.

Tammie began preparing our meal the day before by slicing bread and making an egg mixture that would be poured over the French bread and baked in the oven.  I do not know the name of the dish.  It was kind of a French toast casserole and it was delicious.   It tasted like the bread had been soaked in custard, not eggs.  It had praline on top and a golden brown crust that was as beautiful as it was delectable. 

When the table was set, the orange juice was poured into wine glasses, and the bacon crisped just right we sat down for what would be the last meal the three of us will share at the table before Kristen moves out and fully embraces dorm living.  It is not the last meal we will ever share at this table, but it is the last one we will have together before this significant transition in life takes place.   When I return from this trip she will be gone.

How quickly we have gotten to this point in life.  Where did all the years go.  Tammie is fond of saying the days are long and the years are short.  This morning reminds me of just how true this statement is.

Our table is a significant place in our home.  We have shared many special meals around it.  Of course there are the holidays, birthdays, and first and last days of many of life’s seasons. 

Some of our favorite meals took place on Valentine’s Day.  When the children were very young Tammie and I decided rather than leave them with a babysitter while we went out to commemorate our love, we would celebrate together as a whole family.  We would set the table with our finest china, pour sparklingly apple cider into wine glasses, and serve up the first hamburger of the barbeque season (We live in Southern California so the B.B.Q season comes early). We would toast one another, share what we appreciate about each other and celebrate the love we have has a family.

When Kristen was young and it came time for her to share with her mother what she like best about her she would say, “I like that you take me to Disneyland.”  This is a nice sentiment, but not the impression or impact my wife had dreamed of making on our daughter.  After the meal I would encourage Tammie by telling her, “Just wait, one day this little girl will grow up into a woman and she will look back on all that you have done for her and she will be grateful for all of it.”

This morning, as I sat across the table from my daughter I saw that women.  Do not get me wrong, she still loves going to Disneyland.  In fact, she is going there tomorrow with a friend before that friend leaves for college.  Yet, Disneyland is not the only things she appreciates any more.

I have noticed over the past year how often she will say thank you for the little things you do for her.  I have seen how she seeks her mother out for guidance, comfort, and to simply share the joy of life. I have watched her walk through hard things and come out the other side in a better place.  I have noticed in her the awakening of the possibility of what she has been created to be and do.  I have also noticed that there is still a little girl inside of her that is moving forward bravely into this new stage of life, but who also wants to cling to the relationships built around this table and the safety of our home.

As I look at her I am filled with love and pride.  I am excited for what comes next and I want to keep her from moving out all in the same moment.

After brunch we retired to the living room where we all took a spot on our sectional.   Kristen sat next to me and allowed me to comb my fingers through her hair.  When she was two years-old she was afraid of me and would not come near me.  How glad I am in this moment it was only a phase.  We talked about what the rest of the week would look like, when she would move in and when I would be home. We discussed her transition into college and Tammie and I shared what wisdom we could.  Mostly, however, we shared these last moments before everything changes.

I would not keep her home for anything.  I am excited for the next phase of her life and how God will use it to continue to mold and shape her.  I truly believe she will blossom in college.  For her the best is yet to come.  I would be lying, however, if I did not admit I am going to miss what has been our life for the past 18 years.  This was a moment to reflect, savior, and hope.  It was also a moment to hold on, just for a few minutes more to what has been such a precious time of life.

We often think of Holy moments coming in a worship service, deep spiritual conversation, or a moment in which the only explanation for what just took place is that God showed up.  Holy moments can also come in sitting down to brunch, drinking orange juice out of wine glasses, and sitting on the couch saving these last moments of childhood with a daughter you love so much.  These moments are glorious.

If this father can feel like this, I wonder if it is not the same for our Heavenly Father.  We are always looking for the big Holy moment.  We are always waiting for God to show up and display His glory in a powerful way.  Maybe, just maybe, it is when we are still long enough to be present with Him that we can become aware of His Glory which is already here.  We have already been living in it.  All we needed to do was take a little time to recognize it and savor it.