Waves and kisses

We have this new family tradition. When Walter or I leave for the evening, the other parent and two kids run out to the front of the house. There we sit on the steps and wave like mad and blow kisses at the departing parent.


I'm more often the parent leaving, and I love this ritual. Talk about leaving on a high note! With three family members so enthusiastically sending me out in to the world I feel ready to enter whatever errand or meeting I'm headed towards.

Thanks to the insights of a wise experienced mom friend, Asher and I have our own departure ritual on preschool mornings. I buckle Amelie in her car seat, come around to the other side of the Jeep to buckle Asher in and then we get to pray over his day. I ask if he has anything special to pray about. Usually he doesn't, but that never stops me from thinking of issues from the prior school day that he may have forgotten about. We say our "backdoor prayer," and I am reminded that God goes with Asher into whatever he will face that day.


Saying goodbye, even for a couple of hours, isn't fun and until recently I've preferred to avoid that moment of acknowledging that someone is leaving.

But with our new rituals, I've come to enjoy the dreaded act of parting ways. Those special moments right before leaving make me even more excited to come back home to people so enthusiastic about my presence.

I'm never too rushed for my waves and kisses!