Our family life is changing. Our oldest is a freshman at college, our middle will be heading off to college in 5 months and our youngest is in middle school. Our home feels different with one less child and the siblings feel the change too. While I talk to my college daughter every day, the others don’t. The older two text often as they share news of mutual friends, upcoming concerts, or restaurant recommendations. However, the daily discourse is missing. Days can go by with typical busy routines and no one checks in. And the youngest misses out the most. It’s not that anyone is doing it on purpose; it’s simply that life can get hectic and it may not be a top priority…until it is!

I’d say my biggest accomplishment is my family. Not only do we really love one another but we truly like each other! We enjoy spending time, we respect our different personalities, acknowledge our strengths, support one another with our struggles, and have fun together. But this has taken time and effort. It is work to make a family strong and I want my kids to know this! And if they value these relationships, they need to work at them. Now’s the time for them to learn how to foster their own relationships with one another…making the time, putting in the calls, scheduling dinners, remembering special events, giving words of encouragement, being there to listen, sharing funny stories, and continuing to love.

I feel like I’ve guided them to this point but will try really hard to step back and watch this next phase of their sibling journey and pray it is uniquely strong, supportive, loving and fun. ♥︎