Parting

A very good friend of mine, Kelly, has been staying with me for the last two weeks before she, her husband, and one-year-old child move to Kansas. I will greatly miss her and our frequent chats over coffee. But, I was so glad that she and her son could stay with me before they all moved so that I could spend more time with her before she left. I can defininetly say my house feels so empty now. Kelly has been such a stabilizing force in my life for the last two weeks. From her, I learned what it really meant to be selfless and to lay one's life aside for others. She became for me a model to emulate because she is such an incredible mother and wife. Each day when I got home, she had prepared a wonderful meal and she kept everything so clean. I never realized what a difference it made to have a tidy house and good food on the table. Kelly is such a good steward, teaching me through example how to maintain a budget and find the greatest deals on food. She is such a conscientious mother, too. Her child is so happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. She and her husband are teaching their child baby sign and infant potty training (which works!). But, they are also training their child appropriate behaviors with so much patience. What I found most amazing was that she wanted to leave all of my things the way they were in the house so that she could teach her child what was acceptable to touch and play with and what was not. If it were up to me, I would have baby-proofed the house so that I wouldn't have to deal with telling the child "No." But, then the child never gets the chance to learn to obey the adult.

I am really going to miss Kelly. Our brains were on the same wavelength and we enjoyed analyzing things to a pulp. Our conversations were lively, interesting, and illuminating. It was as if we sustained each other through conversing about life, concepts, ourselves, and the people in our lives. I wish Kelly great success as she steps onto the K-state campus to touch other peoples' lives the way she has touched mine. And I hope that she will be a lifetime friend.