The Madness of Hope

Things Are a Whole Lot Better Than They Used To Be

Things are a whole lot better than they used to be.

As I send all my kids off, I can’t help but think of when I went to college. My parents were missionaries in Africa and leaving us at college was a heart wrenching experience.

Because phone calls were so expensive, we only spoke on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I remember once getting a call on a normal day. The girls ran to my dorm room to tell me to hurry, as the call was from Africa. By the time I got to the phone I was crying because I knew something bad had happened. (It hadn’t.)

I saw my mom and dad only during the summer break. Christmas and Thanksgiving were spent with my Granny. I adored Granny but missed my family.

All communication was by snail mail. I wrote a long letter every Sunday. It took two weeks to reach them and their reply another two weeks. By the time they responded to a problem I was facing, it was usually over. The high light of my week was opening my mail box to find a light blue envelope with a red and blue air mail border

So as I send my kids off, I can be thankful for cell phones, email, and face book.. I am thankful that I have the finances to rush to them if needed. I am thankful for photos my daughter can post from Africa and that can be seen an instant later. I am thankful for text messages and that I can still play the 'mom' role, even if over a
few words on a phone.

Yep……things are a WHOLE lot better than they used to be!