1 Day, 19 Hours, 30 Minutes

It's been such a long time since my last blog entry I'm not sure where to begin. Quite honestly, that may be part of the reason I've waited this long to write. Every time I considered sitting at the keyboard, I just didn't know what to say, how to say it, or I felt like I had other things I needed to be doing.

But here we are finding ourselves less than two days away from our son, Aaron, returning home to the flat land of northeast Indiana. The last thing anyone knew by reading this blog was that there were struggles in the cold, gray days of winter. Once Aaron renewed his determination to stay the course, he focused on the good:

While photos are a part of all exchange
experiences, Aaron developed an official facebook 
page that is open to the public.
Click on the link in the blog to check it out!
Oh, and be sure to "like" the page.

• He began to look with anticipation to his Eurotour.
• After he obtained a new camera, he started his own facebook page, AMRorick Photography, and began to post some of his favorite pictures from concerts and sight seeing.
• With the help of his host families, Aaron was able to enjoy weekend trips to Prague, Czech Republic and Budapest, Hungary.
• He entered his first photo contest which was sponsored by his county library system back in Indiana. While not a prize winner, he was happy to discover one of his pictures would hang in the gallery. 
• Finally, it was time for his two week Eurotour. He discovered a world of culture in France, Spain, and Italy.
• Additionally on his Eurotour, he came to appreciate the relationships one builds traveling with such a large group of young people. 
• Aaron also began to spend much of his spring time hours planning a 3,200 mile road trip for himself and his Dad to take just days after his return to the USA.
• Searching upcoming summer concert schedules also continued as a part of his life, and he was excited to get tickets to see the Monkees and Guns N' Roses back in the states. (You can't say he doesn't like a variety of music!) 
• In early May, Aaron also began to look ahead and began placing applications, sending resumes, and having skype interviews to secure a job upon his return.  

So you see these days of spring have been busy for Aaron. And how have we, as parents, been doing? Well, I discovered that once we shifted from trying to "just get through" this experience, to the mindset of "we're gonna make it," the anticipation of Aaron coming home began to build. Yet, my feelings continued to be mixed. While I have increasingly looked forward to hugging my son for a long and hard embrace, I have been apprehensive when I consider how life will have changed. 

This change I speak of isn't just a result of the 287 days we've been apart. Much of the change will be a result of Aaron being 19, seeking employment, and hopefully heading off to trade school in January of 2017. With increased age comes increased responsibility. I know Aaron is up to the challenge, but it just seems odd to me when I realize that if Aaron doesn't like returning to his old environment or doesn't like new rules, our new recourse as parents can be, "If you don't like it, you can move out."

People, in general, have mostly assumed that Mike and I are excited at the prospect of Aaron coming home this Saturday. Yet, that isn't the word that springs to mind when asked. We struggle to find the right word. The best word we've found is probably the one I used above. We are apprehensive. And if we were to be truly honest with ourselves, I think we are scared too. Why should we be scared? Well, we really shouldn't be. As I reassured Aaron in an earlier blog post, on November 14, when the terrorists attacked in Paris, God's message to us is to "Be not afraid." Still, when the unknown lurks ahead and we know there is change fast approaching, a bit of fear creeps into our lives. 

I suppose, though, that we should take a lesson from our son as spring arrived. I suppose we should focus on the good: 

• Our son will now be home in 1 day, 18 hours, 53 minutes.
• He has truly had an experience of a lifetime.
• He has learned much about himself.
• He has made and kept an incredible commitment.
• He has at least 3-5 companies requesting he contact them about employment opportunities as soon as next week begins.
• Mike and I have enjoyed quiet evenings.
• Mike and I have seen new places too with a trip to Arizona.



Mike and I in Sedona, Arizona. 

• Mike and I have basically had a test run with the "empty nest" and realized we could get used to it!

So the next days, weeks, months, and years might not be easy. Just like these last months had ups and downs, so too will the future. 

However we must remember, we are just blessed to have made it this far!