And he's off!

Nathan left on his mission today! We dropped him off at the airport at 5:00 am. This is definitely the most bittersweet day of my life! I'm so happy and excited for him. I know he will have an amazing adventure and a great time. And I absolutely know this is the right thing for him to do. And at the same time, it was so hard to send my baby off to another country for 2 years! I held it together (mostly) while seeing him off. We said our goodbyes, shed a few tears, and then off he went. But once I got out of the airport, the tears flowed. A big piece of my heart is now traveling across the world!  

I already miss him so much! Last night, all the kids said good bye to him. That was heart wrenching!!! They're all so close to each other. This morning, Caleb woke up and asked where Nathan is. Cue the tears again.  And then he told me "two years is a long time!" Yes it is!   But he also told me, "We only have to wait for 2 'May 13ths' and then he's home!" Aww, the optimism of a 6 year old.  I'm so, so proud of Nathan and the amazing young man he has become. Hopefully the tears will stop sometime soon. Just when I think I'm done crying, something will trigger the tears again. I walked past his empty room, and more tears. I got out plates for breakfast and only had to get 8... tears again. Being a mom is hard! But he is so ready and is will do great! He shared with me last night that he was a bit nervous. I was fine till then, but that just hit my heart. My baby is nervous and I'm not there to help him and can't even talk him through it! But, like I said, he's ready and will do great! And I know Heavenly Father will watch out for him.  He's in good hands.

OK, I'm rambling. My thoughts and emotions are all over the place today, so I'll stop now.  

Mom and Nathan at the airport. (I'm amazed I look as good as I do in this picture.  My face is NOT showing what I'm feeling on the inside.  Also, we got up at 3:30 am.  I'm not a morning person!  So considering all that, wow, I look awesome!  lol.)

Mom, Dad and Nathan right before we hugged and sent him on his way.

Checking in:

 And he's off! He didn't even look back. That's a good thing, though because he would have seen me crying.. Watching him walk away onto that plane.... oh my heart!

And just like that, he's off.  I wonder when my tears will stop.  Maybe never.