Yesterday was a joyous but somewhat sad day. My youngest son left for his mission. Well, technically early this morning. He is currently with my parents, probably having lunch, before they take him to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah. He will be in Provo for 5 weeks, and then on to his assigned mission in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. This is a day he has long been anticipating and looking forward to. It’s a day I have as well, because I’ve seen the wonderful changes that occur when my other kids have and are serving the Lord. But that doesn’t make it easy letting them go!

I was a touch worried about the airports. He hasn’t really flown very much, definitely not as much as my other kids for some reason. He was also a little bit nervous, but prayed he’d have someone he knew on the same flight. The person he thought might be there, another missionary, wasn’t. But oh how the Lord blesses those righteous desires and pleas. 5 or 6 people stopped us in the airport, people who had served missions in the past, who were headed back to Utah from hunting and fishing trips, all commented that they’d see him on the flight and assured us they’d take care of him.

When we got to the luggage drop off, there was also another missionary, one we didn’t know, traveling to Utah. When he got back to his gate, several more people, all returned missionaries from years gone by, came up and talked to him. They were all on the same flights back to Salt Lake. When he got to Seattle, 6 more missionaries joined the next flight, and he sat by 2 of them. What a wonderful answer to a sincere request to the Lord from my son. What a wonderful comfort to this mom’s heart! I am excited to see all that he will do the next 2 years.

But time marches on, no rest for the weary, and only a little time to stop and reflect. Yesterday I also started teaching a 6 week watercolor workshop. This is the longest course I’ve ever taught, I usually do just a 3 hour class once in a while, and I am hoping that at the end of the course my students will be comfortable enough in watercolor to continue with the skills and learning and go on to paint more on their own. But, I need to teach those skills, and I’m hoping and praying that I can do that well.

I had 4 people sign up, and all of them attended last night. This first class was not a big painting day, we started out talking about the materials that work best for watercolor, what watercolor is and how it differs from other mediums, how the process works, and then we played with primary colors and did swatches, mixing and blending, and then painted a color wheel.

Over the course of the next 2 weeks we will be working on a large variety of techniques, starting with brush and water control and moving into washes , wet on wet, wet on dry, shading, and so much more. I thought I wouldn’t have enough to fill 6 weeks, but I am feeling like 8 or 10 weeks would have been very easy to fill now.

The last part of the course I told them was up to them. I wanted to paint what they were interested in, and so their assignment was to think about what they might like to learn to paint. A couple of topics of interest were Alaska wildlife like moose, and Christmas card subjects. As we get closer to that point, we will have to pick a couple and work on them. I would like the last 3 weeks to be projects, where they get to use the techniques they’ve learned in a couple of finished pieces so that we can walk through the process from start to finish.

As always, life goes on whether we’re ready or not. I kind of think that’s a blessing in some ways. I process better when I am busy and being productive anyway. I am excited to watch my son grow, and I am also excited to watch my students grow!