My Game Buddy is Gone for 2 Years

It’s been over a week since our last board game post because our focus has been elsewhere. Writing about games has taken a backseat to our big family change.

This week our oldest son, Trevor, left to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

While we’re super excited for this major event in his life, we’re still going to miss him a lot.

As a missionary he’ll be gone for 2 years and the only contact we’ll have with him will be through weekly letters/emails and phone/Skype calls twice a year (Mother’s Day and Christmas Day). He’ll be focused 100% on teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the area where he’s called to serve. And we’re very happy that he’s chosen to do so.

We had a glimpse of him being away from home last Fall while he was away at college. But we still saw him frequently and could text and talk whenever we’d like. Waiting for weekly emails is going to be a big test in patience.

Even though it’s a tough separation, we wouldn’t want him to be anywhere else.

Seeing your kids grow up and leave home is an emotional time as a parent. But at the same time, it’s very exciting to see them take those next steps.

And now our family dynamics will never be the same.

Once kids start leaving home, the dynamics change.

Our second son, Jaden, will be a senior in high school next year and also plans to serve a mission soon after graduation. Which means that most likely he’ll leave for his 2 years before Trevor returns. So for these brothers, it will be 3+ years before they’re together again.

It will be a great reunion, but they’ll also be onto their next stage of life, away from the nest thereafter.

To extend the fun as much as we could, last week we took a vacation to southern California to spend uninterrupted time as a family. We went hiking in Zion National Park along the way and had fun at Disneyland, California Adventure, and Knott’s Berry Farm – a fabulous time to share together.

Then this past Wednesday morning amid tears, we bid him farewell at the airport for his flight to Mexico City.

He’ll spend 6 weeks in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Mexico City learning Spanish and gospel lessons before heading to the New Jersey mission where he’ll teach the gospel in Spanish.

We received a short email that night letting us know that he arrived safely. And thus the anticipation for the weekly messages begins.

 

Love the time you have

Trevor has been a great gaming buddy. We’ve spent a lot of time playing and bonding over board games for many years.

When we started our reviews, he was the one that dove in with both feet for the reviews – both in front of the camera and behind the scenes editing the reviews.

For sure I’m going to miss him asking me to play games.

But that’s just one small part that I’ll miss.

However, instead of thinking of what we’ll miss, we want to focus on all the great things we’ll get to experience both now and in the future.

For the time being, we’ll get to cherish the things he shares about his missionary experiences. And we’ll get to cherish the time with have with our kids still at home.

Every stage of life brings its own joys. And we want to celebrate those joys.

Love what’s before us now!

 

And Congratulations Trevor!

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