In Between

I have an old family photo on my computer, taken in August of 2013 in one of those rare times when we scored a few days with all of the family together. I remember the photo shoot. Fortunately, the photographer was a family friend, familiar with our antics and thus delightfully patient with the children (some of them quite adult in size and years, if not in maturity) who could not seem to manage a few seconds in the same position.

Looking back, I realize that the family photos captured a pivotal time for us. Devin had completed an LDS mission to San Antonio, Texas earlier that week. Within days, he and Alec (newly graduated from high school) would drive the old green Honda Civic to Utah State University, where Devin would continue his interrupted degree program and Alec would snatch a quick taste of college life before his own mission.

In the weeks following the photo shoot, the older boys and I took an unforgettable hiking trip to Wyoming, Alec received his mission call to France, and Brad achieved a personal milestone over two decades in the making. As the year continued, we began to feel an increasing tug drawing us away from Illinois. It took over a year for the pieces to fall into place, but a restlessness descended, and we entered an occasionally uncomfortable period of limbo.

Lake Sylvia

Meanwhile, Devin entered a new phase of his life, bringing us a wonderful daughter-in-law in 2014 and graduating from college a year later. Jared assumed oldest child at home status, literally growing into his role and towering over the rest of us. Kristina waltzed happily (or at least dramatically) into her teenager-in-training stage. Across the Atlantic, Alec leapt out of his comfort zone, learning lessons in humility, the healing power of Belgian chocolate, and the miracles of the grace of God.

In just three months, we will gather again for a family photo, with Alec fresh off a plane from Europe and Devin and Mattea bringing us a hint of Wasatch mountain air. The four of us left at home have traded the prairies of the Midwest for the rain forests of Washington, and all of us feel the tingle of adventure as our lives evolve.

More Lake Sylvia

I spent an hour kayaking this morning on Lake Sylvia, wondering at the turn my life has taken and feeling a bit guilty at the joy I feel and the beauty that surrounds me. I paddled in solitude, accompanied only by a family of deer, my own thoughts, and the quiet depth of trees reflected on the mirror surface of the water. Struck by a particularly lovely reflection, I paddled over to take a photo, quickly discovering that the ripples of my forward movement disturbed the image in the water. Perfect moments are difficult to capture, I suppose, with cameras inadequate and life moving forward so quickly. But even woefully inadequate photos remind us of the perfection we lived for a bit and the promise of astounding moments around the next bend.