And then there was one

Thanks to the very odd way the calendar works for CAL at her chosen institution of higher learning, the lovely BYU-I, she has the winter off. Now for anyone that has spent a winter in Rexburg, ID, you know that dying in an airplane crash may, in fact, be a more appealing alternative than hunkering down for that never-ending freezefest of misery. So we have had her home since just before Christmas, but yesterday she jumped off the metaphorical sofa here in the Den, boarded a plane west and is heading back to school. We are going to miss her. It's been fun to watch her solidify the relationship she shares with her mom. I'm sure she will NOT miss my near constant nagging about her employment status. But what else is a father going to do?

For one resident of the Den, though, CAL's departure restores things to their rightful (in his head) order. Of course, I refer to the Boy and his retaking the throne, now that his older sister is gone. He is once again, the one child left at home. He is the One. So the next few days will be filled with readjusted expectations and the occasional demand that is more reminiscent of a hostage crisis than parent-child relationship. The good news is that we've gotten pretty good at navigating these waters. By the time you get to the third, you've gotten a clue or two about how to handle your children. So we'll pay homage to the One and get things back to normal.

I'm going to miss having CAL home. Just like I miss having Our Lady of BYU home and she's been gone for  years. But I've said it before, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's an honor to watch them hiking through this mountain range that is adulthood. I'm glad we've still got the Boy home for awhile. And Heaven knows, he's glad to be the One again.