Darling Girls,
Today I said goodbye to you, left you in a tiny corner of New Zealand, and though this parting has long been looming, it came altogether too soon.
What makes me misty-eyed (or waterfalled-eyed, however you chose to define it), is that, while it's not forever goodbye, it's farewell to this season of doing life with you.
And I have loved these last 19 months with you all. I've loved seeing you learn and adventure, dream and create together; I've loved the family we've become and the tangled mess of simple and hard moments that have intertwined into a layering of life that has looked so special.
When you came last April, I didn't know how much I'd care or how sweet this season with you would be.
It has surpassed my highest hopes and so the ending feels rude, like someone barging in on a dinner party before the dessert.
It's the ending of so much-of family dinners on Wednesdays, of pizza/movie/cider Friday nights, of choc chip pancakes on Sunday mornings. While I recognize that this sounds as if eating is all we do together it is about so much more than that. It's the denouement of this two year journey-of working side by side, of teaching, of learning, of traveling to far-away places together.
You girls shine bright in my heart and mind for a myriad of reasons.
You are incredibly hard-working, servant-hearted, determined, convicted and inspiring. You are thoughtful, wise-beyond your years and oh-so-wonderful to know.
Know that I admire you, that I love you with my whole heart.
We are proud of you, of your journey, that you didn't give up.
We are impressed with you and the way you live your lives.
And while this should make us feel old and grey, we love that you called us "mum" and "dad." You still feel like we're the same age though, right?!
All our love.
(Insert a thousand kisses and sappy thoughts here.)
L (+ J)