Back to Normal??? & The MTC drop off

I guess you could say that the Call family is back to normal. No more big life changes planned for the next little while. Our new normal is...two adult parents, one adult daughter, and one teen-age son living at home, with our married son and daughter living five minutes away and Nelson gone very, very, 18 hours very far away for the next two very long years.

But here is the scoop for today. The MTC drop off.

We dropped Nelson off at the MTC today... At the MTC you rip your heart out and let the Lord take it ...oh you know that it will be in the best of hands, but it is still hard sending a piece of your heart away. Nelson was so ready and excited to get going on his mission. Last evening after he was set apart we asked if he felt different and he replied "No, but I feel like I want to act/be different." What a wonderful attitude and thought. He woke up today at 6:25 AM read his scriptures etc... and got dressed as a missionary. Showed me the time on his count down clock...very depressing 3 hours 45 minutes. He wanted to get going but we had a family breakfast planned then said good-byes etc... At the MTC he was all speed ... go,go,go ... fast to the luggage drop off, wanted to get photos taken care of quickly so he could get his tags,instructions etc... He then practically ran to the chapel for the meeting. He went to sit on the end seat so he could leave quickly, but I stopped that and sat on the end myself. We had a wonderful meeting and by the time they were showing the short video "Called to Serve" he was floating off of his chair...I promise you he was floating. I put my arm around him to bring him back into his seat. We all said a quick good-bye ... just like ripping off a band-aid. We all shed a tear or two ... they were happy of course, but just knowing how much we love him and having him around, we will miss his help, humor, and attitude,so the tears. I of course told him I didn't want to let him go and hugged him tight, he probably has a mascara stain on his collar... we are so much a like and I knew I was embarrassing him so I told him I was sorry that I was crying ( I'm crying even now as I write...bitter sweet tears), and then let him go. He was second out of the door...would have been first but he grabbed a tissue.
We sent him out the door with more stuff than he will need at this time, but I practiced on Jordan (Sorry J), and I think knew better what I thought he would need. Why, because he is just like me and I know what I think I would need.
OKAY, Enough of my crying, and thinking...I have to stop this! My bra is soggy with black streaks, my mascara dripped off my face hours ago, and now I have a crying head...stuffy, stuffy, stuffy.

So life is back to normal...the new normal, the soggy normal. Well, whatever the new normal brings and is we will adjust, and survive, we re the Calls.
MCC