It’s a time of change here on the Nelson farm. Not only are the leaves beginning to turn shades of yellow, the fruit ripening, the tomatoes bright red in the garden, but our lives are twisting and contorting into the next phase too.

I’m not that kind of gal who ends August with the longing for pumpkin lattes and winter sweaters. I like summer. All the time…Summer. Spring is good too, but fall, that means change. I’m not a fan.

This is the year we’ve known would arrive, but kind of pushed aside as a someday occurrence. Our oldest child is preparing to move out. He’s taking on the world and forming his own identity and life.

And he’s ready.

I have no doubt that this is a good and positive thing for him. It’s a necessary step in becoming the man God designed him to be. This is the time where he takes responsibility for the choices that will shape his future.

We’re proud…and a bit reluctant.

Reluctant to let go of the little boy we love so dearly. And reluctant to share the young man we’ve come to really enjoy. What a cruel twist. You raise your kids through all the spills and scrape of childhood and the crazy mood swings of adolescence, then they leave right when you see the fruits of all your parenting.

But that’s how it’s designed. And I trust that this too is good. I’m so thankful for all the years we’ve had under the same roof. There will be more family memories to treasure. More trips. More adventures. And of course, there will always be a room waiting if he wants to come home.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22