Two Years

Two years ago, when Laura graduated from Crown, I had a pretty good idea of the path her life would take. She was coming home for the summer so she could make some money working at Camp Kingdom Kids while applying for teaching jobs up in the Twin Cities area. In my mom-driven opinion, that girl was born to be a teacher. I could not envision a scenario in which she would not find a teaching job up there and then go live with her dear friend Jessica. She didn’t even apply for jobs around here, as her dream was to live back in the area of Crown. The next chapter of her life was pretty certain, in my book. I was fully ready to release her to the “real world” and watch her soar.

Laura and her friend, Jessica

Laura and her Grandpa Les

As it is with life, things did not happen in the way I envisioned. She applied for many jobs, but none were just right. In the middle of that application process, we as a family experienced a tremendous blow as my husband's father committed suicide. Laura and her Grandpa Les always had a very special relationship, so this was especially hard on her. We made our way through the rest of the summer, and then, as school was about to begin, Laura took a position right here in Rochester, at Kingdom Kids. Kingdom Kids is the preschool where I work. She was to be a Kindergarten teacher every afternoon, a three-year-olds teacher three mornings a week, and a staff daycare worker for a few hours a week after school. She hit the ground running, throwing herself into all she had to learn for that new position, and…she did not move out.

Laura on her first day as a Kingdom Kids teacher.

This is us on pajama day at our preschool. 

Here we are on just about the last day of the school year.

For one full school year, I had the privilege of working in the same building as Laura, something I never dreamed would happen. It was a delightful year, a year of incredible blessing. I watched her grow in confidence and competence as she rounded out her love of children with experience in the classroom. I also had the privilege of having another woman in the house for the year. Laura and I have a type of synergy, if you will, each finishing the other’s ridiculously silly thoughts and statements. We had so many laughs and wonderful bonding times. As the school year came to a close and Kingdom Kids was phasing out their Kindergarten program, Laura had to make some more job decisions. Again, I started thinking she might end up moving out on her own, but by this time she did have a reason to stick around Rochester. She had met a young man while working at Kingdom Kids and had started dating him.

This is my first picture of Laura and Andrew.

As it turned out, Laura’s next opportunity was the Graduate Induction Program, through Winona State University and Rochester Public Schools. She was one of 15 applicants accepted into that program for the 2015-16 school year. This meant she would spend the next year and a half taking classes and teaching in the Rochester school system. She would get a full year of teaching experience with great guidance and instruction in the process. She would end up with her Master’s Degree in education, with no out of pocket expenses. Well, that is, no out of pocket expenses if she lived at home….

The blessings continued and we spent another year with Laura in our home. These two years have been bonus years, as far as I’m concerned – years I never expected to have with her under our roof.

Two years of sharing cute-kid stories from school experiences.

Two years of walking through tremendous grief.

Two years of laughing uncontrollably at mistakes we make.

Two years of hearing about her crazy dreams.

Two years of picking up (or stepping over) her messes all over our home.

Two years of warming her cold toes and fingers.

Two years of watching her knit and crochet beautiful creations.

Two years of drinking chai tea together.

Two years of watching her fall in love.

And now, we are on the cusp of a huge transition in Laura’s life. On this very day, she is marrying her Andrew.  Two years ago, I thought I was fully ready to release her to the “real world” and watch her soar. Now, I know that I am. I have thoroughly enjoyed the richness of the two years of extra time spent with my dear Laura Loo, and I appreciate the gift that those two years were. I have also seen the richness and maturity of her love for Andrew and his love for her. I am delighted that they have put God at the center of their lives together. I am filled with joy that their special day has finally arrived.

Laura and Andrew, at their wedding rehearsal.

Happy wedding day, Laura and Andrew! May your love continue to blossom and grow as you experience a lifetime of beautiful moments, together. I am filled to overflowing with joy today, so I suppose you shouldn’t be surprised if you see a little of that joy leaking out my eyes.