Look at how happy he is to be leaving! I can't believe how fast the past 19 years have gone. It's so cliche, but it's so true! I must say that about a year ago, maybe even two years ago, I was more than ready for him to go. But over the past six months or so, Nathan has matured a lot. He's become fun to be around again, it's interesting and invigorating to have a conversation with him, and he's generally pretty cooperative. We made it through the rough late-teen years with only a few scrapes and bruises to our emotional well-being. And now that he's such a nice guy, he's leaving! Harsh!
He's so anxious to leave that he had the door open before I could take his picture! Here he is with all the stuff he'll be taking with him. It doesn't seem like very much to me, but he seems to think it's more than enough.
He and his friend Mackenzie are driving out to Rexburg together. I was very nervous about this plan, especially since I just recently made the drive with Nate and I know how scary the road are even when there's no bad weather. It seemed like driving in the beginning of January would definitely mean snow and ice. I prayed for days that they would have good weather, and Mackenzie's mom must have been praying hard, too, because January 3 was a beautiful day. Clear blues skies and a high ridge of pressure for the next 24 hours (which means clear, calm weather and no precipitation) over all of the northwestern US: Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the three states they would be passing through. Truly an answer to prayers!
Nate was supposed to be at Mackenzie's house at 6:45 on Thursday morning. Jillian and Ben really wanted to come say goodbye, even though it meant waking up extra early on a non-school day. Aren't they loving siblings? Well, yes they are, but I think the real reason was because they're both so excited for him to leave so they can each have their own room. Jillian is taking over Nate's room and Ben will have the room he and Jillian used to share. We got to Mackenzie's house and all her siblings were still asleep. Feel the love, Nate!
Here they are, all ready to go! Don't they make a cute couple? "No, Mom!" Nate says. "We're just friends!" Well, that's how the best relationships always start, right? Anyway, they managed to get all their stuff into Mackenzie's car the night before, so all that was left was for us to take a few pictures, give some hugs, cry a little, and say goodbye. I actually didn't cry that much. I did before we left our house when Brad gave Nate a blessing and as we were driving to Mackenzie's, but by the time we got there, I had gotten myself under control. Nate's enthusiasm made it hard to be sad. I'm really excited for this next stage in his life. He's an amazing young man and I can't wait to see where life takes him!
They left the house at 6:55, planning to catch the 7:50 ferry. More blessings were poured out on them and they were one of the last cars on the 7:05. They made it there in 13 hours, with no incidents. Nate said there were high winds through the Blues, but the road were clear and dry the whole way.
