I have six teenagers going away this weekend, on a church youth group retreat, up in Tennessee. Only the 14 younger children will be home, plus some older kids, but they have jobs and busy social lives, so it’ll be just me and the younger 14…how weird is that for me?

I might take those 14 to the Dollar Movie Theater, something we do as a family maybe once a year, I might order a couple of pizzas, or allow cereal for supper. It hardly seems worth it to drag out all the big pots and cook for so few people. This is an odd state of affairs for a large family. I simply won’t know what to do with myself.

The ones who’re left at home will be uneasy with their older birth siblings away for the weekend, an uncomfortable state of affairs for children who’ve been split up too often in foster care. Even though they know that we are their forever family, it is an alarmingly familiar fear to suddenly not have their siblings in the house with them. I’ll do a great deal of reassuring to everyone reminding them that the teenagers will be home Sunday night.

My nervous Nellies, the three youngest who’ve just been here for two years will be particularly antsy over having their beloved oldest sister gone. So attached to her that they refer to her as Memaw and she’s only 12 years old. She’s a very sociable young lady and she deserves to get away from responsibilities and to have a good time…to be a kid, not a “parent” of three younger siblings.

We’re celebrating their two year anniversary tomorrow. Two years ago they awoke in Texas and slept that night at our house in Georgia. The easiest sibling group I’ve ever parented, they’ve adjusted quickly, and it’s difficult to remember when they weren’t with us. They’ve wanted me to adopt another sibling group, since they’ve not experienced that phenomena in our home, but to no avail, I’m done adopting, my family is complete.

This quiet weekend will give me a taste of a life I’ll finally experience when another decade or so has passed, when I’m in my mid-sixties many of the pressures and responsibilities on me will ease up considerably, and I can then dote on my many, many grandchildren.