The Price we Pay for Love

I hope my dad doesn't mind my candor, but I felt the need to share ;).

This morning I called my parents house to see what they were up to today. I admit that a weekend rarely goes by that I don't see my mom and dad, and I like it that way.

I could sense some sadness in my dad's voice when he reminded me that today they would be moving my littlest sister back into the dorms at UNI, and that next weekend my brother will be shipped off to Madison Wisconsin where he will be starting a new job for Hy-Vee.

My sisters Andrea and Cassie both live in the same town that Cory and I have made our home, and until the end of this month, Clay is also here in North Liberty. Though this is the second year that Dani has spent off at College in Cedar Falls...about an hour and a half away, and the furthest any of us Howard Kids have ventured from the comforts of Mom and Dad, it is still hard to see her go. Dani spent the summer working with Cassie at the Van Allen Summer Day Camp and we had the pleasure of her company on a consistent basis.

But Clay-boy is making the biggest move yet when he packs up his car for Wisconsin in another week, and we are all feeling the gloom of knowing that he won't be here with us all of the time. Though he has been working hard for Hy-Vee for some time, at least we knew that if we ever really need him, we could go walk around the store for a while where one of the managers would recognize us as Clay's family and page him to come and see us. I am thinking that this move may require a Hy-Vee boycott, it just won't be the same without Clay.

My brother is one of the funniest people I know (don't let that go to your head cheese boy), and at the same time, a very smart and well spoken young man. He has the sensitivity that one would expect from a guy who grew up in a house with four sisters, but at the same time, he can be such a guy. I reminded him when he told me that he was hoping to move to Wisconsin for a management job with Hy-Vee that he had better very closely consider the move and to keep in mind that there is not a single person in all of Wisconsin that loves him. What I didn't follow that up with at the time, but as we are all thinking about with his upcoming move is that, there are a lot of us here in Iowa that really do.

I reminded my Dad this morning that though Clay's moving away is going to be hard for all of us to swallow, the fact that he has the confidence to go after his goals and to take on a new, unfamiliar city is a testament to his parents.

I then told him about my little Thea finally making it over from her belly to her back and rolling all over my living room. Dad says, "well that is mostly good," and I agreed. As long as she doesn't try to roll off to Wisconsin.

So the Price we pay for Love...I read this quote once, "Grief is the price we pay for Love." And I couldn't agree more. Love is expensive, but worth every penny.