The beginning of an end

As I sat in our rocking chair this afternoon, I was savoring the quiet of the house, the smell of our precious Nathan and breathing a sigh of relief. We made it through Philip's first week of class. We achieved all that I had hoped. We schooled 4 great days; we made it to the pool one afternoon; I've cooked 3 decent meals. We read; we laughed; we played; we cuddled; we colored; we learned and we played kickball. It struck me again, that this is the beginning of a long list of lasts. When Philip graduates in 9 months, our life will again take another turn. At this point, we don't know what that turn will look like but we do know that we will close the chapter of our life called "Duke Divinity school". So much of our life right now is centered around Divinity school. The kids can't seem to understand that Duke isn't a city. When we tell them we're going to Durham they say, "oh we're going to Duke.". I truly hope that in these 9 months we will be able to savor this experience, enjoy it to its fullest and not hope for the time to pass too quickly. As hard as times may get, the further into the semester we go, I know that it's only a matter of time before Philip walks across that stage with a huge smile on his face and a well earned Diploma in his hand.