Musings about Cannon

Last Sunday I said Goodbye to my 11 year-old son who left with his grandpa on a tour to Canada. It's been 5 days and I miss him so much! He is having a wonderful time and we are so grateful for this experience that he can see the compassion and hard work of his grandpa in the midst of a difficult and stressful job as tour guide. They got to see whales! Real humpback and blue whales in the ocean. One of the things I miss most about Cannon is the dialogue that we've gotten into the past month or so. When I pick him up from school he climbs in the front seat and talks the whole way home. Something about Cannon is that sometimes in the past I would ask him about his school or whatever and he would only tell me little parts of his life and then if there was something that was bothering him, it would take him weeks sometimes months for him to tell me. Or he would get a stomach ache. So I feel really blessed by the moments we've had lately. Another thing I miss about him is his love for Leah. The other day he called me early in the morning, before 8 am and all he said was "hi mom, can I talk to Leah?" It was hilarious listening to my 2 year old carry on a conversation about who knows what! I also miss his energy, I just miss taking him places, watching his games, asking him to do stuff for me and being able to go somewhere and have him volunteer to stay with Leah. He's been so busy lately with school and fall baseball that really time in the car has become so precious. I've always known this time would come but I really am just in shock that he is turning 12 on Sunday and getting ordained the following Sunday. What? What happened to age 9 and 10 and 11? He's such a little boy still but it changes so quickly and I am so proud of the young man he is turning into. He's smart and funny. He's talented and athletic. He's assertive and quite a leader. He shows so much love and affection to Leah and works so hard at school. We are so proud of him!