Farewell

Monday, Elder Chesley boarded a plane to Utah where he was received by my brother, Jim Rohan. Uncle Jim took charge of my son, and will deliver him to the MTC tomorrow (Wednesday).

Here are a couple of goodbye pictures.

With Grandma Rohan

With baby sister

Elder Chesley also received a very sweet father's blessing before leaving. That blessing was a great comfort to me, as his mother, particularly since I've never done this before--but expect to do it again and again.


Saying goodbye was not easy. We hugged a lot. And I cried. I'd spent a couple of days wondering when this was really going to hit me--that my first born son was leaving for TWO YEARS. Sure, he's gone on trips without me. But this is our first real separation. I've basically seen and/or heard this human for more than eighteen years, and now he's gone. I talked to him on the phone today, and he reminded me that he'll call me on Mothers' Day, which is less than 5 months from now. That's not such a big deal. (though I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to feel like a very big deal around the middle of April)

He's a good man. I've done the best I can to this point, and while I recognize my job isn't quite over yet, I know this is the first step on his journey and I can't go along for that. And that's okay.