Dear Kids,
I saw it in your eyes when we told you this time. It's getting harder, isn't it? With each new move, you get a little older, a little wiser, a little more attached to the people and the places than you were before. Gone are the days we can just pick up and go and you're none the wiser. You get the ache of loss now.
Which makes it a little harder for us to make the decision.
But we want you to know something before we head on another new adventure.
I hope you know in the depths of your soul that you will be okay wherever we go because we go together. We have been a part of a lot of different teams in your lifetime. But our family, this team of five, will always be our first priority, our first love, and our home—no matter where it is.
You have been thrust into uncomfortable spaces over and over again in your short life. Yet, I've been amazed to watch you step out of your comfort zones with each new setting. I won't lie, your resilience and courage shock me every time. You are strong, brave, and confident, and I see that even more when you're holding your brother or sister's hand. I love that. That will never change, even when you're big. They will always be your best friend.
I hope that when all the changes feel like they're closing in on you, you feel a deep sense of stability within you. That even though your externals are a little shaky, your feet are on solid ground, because you are so deeply loved by us, your family, but also by the God of the Universe who is in all, and over all, and through all and sees your every move, whether it be an inch or a thousand miles.
We would never go somewhere we didn't think would be good for you. Our greatest calling in life is to raise up good human beings who love God and love others, which of course includes every player we come in contact with. But more importantly that means you. We would never want to threaten that calling by putting our own ambitions on a pedestal.
So as we pack up all our things inside this house, the house we've all grown pretty attached to, don't forget that our love and security are going with us. It's not attached to this home, or this town, or these people.
No matter where we go, we go together. We are a family, but most importantly we are a team. And we know, because God has proven it over and over again, that new friends who will become family are waiting for us just around the corner.
You are so loved. More than you'll ever know. By us, but also by people all over the state. Maybe that makes us crazy. Maybe that makes you lucky.
I vote lucky.