All's Quiet on the Home Front

The first change I noticed was the piano bench. I don't think it has been pushed in for 10 years...
All the piano players are away now... I could put all the music up, or in tidy stacks, and there it would stay.There are piles of sheet music on the bench, at least 4 piano books open on the piano; a couple stacks of hymn books, and a mix of music: evreything from classical, to Charlie Brown, on top of the upright grand. I will miss the spontaneous music that flowed from the piano as one or the other of our sons sat down to play. It was a frequent occurrence, often joined by Toby, the baying beagle, with his own joyful cacophony.

In the kitchen, I noticed the coffee pot, empty now, with a final filter full of used coffee grounds.
His mugs, lined on the bottom with a covering of chocolaty syrup, won't collect by the sink,
and we won't need to keep an ample supply of cocoa for him to add to his coffee.
I silently washed the pile of plates, and silverware, couple of coffee mugs.
I won't come home from work to find evidence of hungry young men in the kitchen, or left by the sink.
If I leave the kitchen clean, sink empty of dirty dishes, it will be clean when I return to the silent room.

The dogs were napping on favorite cushions or the rug, oblivious thus far to the quiet that was settling on our home.

I played a favorite CD to lift my heart, and, then,
I went into his room.
The bed was unmade. Again.
I can be positive that the bed he sleeps in for the two months of Basic Training will be made regularly and well.
Several pairs of shoes, a couple pairs of socks, earplugs, video games scatter across the floor.
I pick them up and make the bed.
I ponder briefly if the discipline of Army training will make a lasting change in his lack of neatness.
Time will tell.

I sat at the computer and find that he had left his Facebook account open once more. He has changed his status to alert us all that he will be back in December, and, "I will appreciate your prayers."

Most assuredly I will continue praying for him. May God use this experience to draw him closer, to lean on God. I pray for his troop mates. I pray for my fair-haired son so soon grown to manhood, May God mold this man for His purposes. Amen.

And last, I remembered my mom cutting my son's hair Saturday night in preparation for his departure. Dark blond hair lay on the floor, and I gathered a little to save.
This was the first night that all our sons are away.
God Bless Them Every One.