Since the time I left for college I have spent my entire adult life away from family in Columbus. Because of this there have been countless visits and countless goodbyes. Goodbyes for my family are rarely done without tears. If I am being honest, this is partially due to the fact that emotions run high in the Miller family (and those of you that know my family know which individuals the emotions really run high). But the real reason for the tears is because of the extreme closeness we feel towards each other. No one is pretending or acting for an academy award when we say goodbye. It honestly hurts to pull the vehicle out of the driveway or walk into the ticketing portion of the airport knowing it will be months until I see sisters, parents, brother-in-laws, or nieces & nephews again. And since Gretchen and I started having those little girls of ours, the tears & emotions during goodbyes are only magnified. We are taking precious granddaughters and nieces away you know!

But I would say that no goodbye is going to be as difficult as the one I am about ready to say. In about 45 minutes I will be leaving Penny's house and heading to the airport, bound for MN. I have been here 8 days and away from home a lot this last month and I know I need to return home to my family, friends, and responsibilities there. I am obviously leaving with mixed emotions but I have a weird peace inside. I want to be here for when...well, you know, and maybe I will be able to. But I am relearning once again that I am not really in control of life, death, and time. And just as before I leave my house each morning and say to my wife and daughters, "I love you" with no guarantee of seeing them again, I will do the same today with Penny. On Monday, in the midst of a long meeting with nurses, my sisters, and Dustin concerning how to move forward with Penny's care, I was reminded once again to not leave things left unsaid. So I will say goodbye to this little post, grab the hand of my sleeping sister, and tell her one more time how she means the world to me. There will surely be tears (well, for me - she is sleeping), and "I love you's", and emotions...emotions of sadness, joy, and pride for the privilege it is to know her, share life with her, learn about Jesus from her, and say I am her brother.