the night before we left.

She was up running her hands over our green couch

dusting the fancy endtables

and taking a last sit

in the rocker

and I was up

because I couldn't sleep.

In the morning, Mom and I took the picture of Jesus

down from over the couch

and wrapped it in a towel

to set it in her suitcase

again.

I noticed how her hands trembled

and it crossed my mind

that being a preacher's wife

might be as hard as being a preacher's daughter.

The "Little Bit Extra" club

must have worked overtime that night

because in the morning

as Daddy and the boys were hefting boxes into the trunk

of the car

they came bearing gifts

of fried chicken

muffins

brownies

already buttered biscuits

a jar of canned peaches

ham and tuna sandwiches

oranges

shelled pecans

and even a bag of suckers for the baby.

The men came

and checked Daddy's car over

to make sure it could make the trip

lifting up the hood

checking the dipstick

brushing corrosion from the battery.

It was a quiet day.

Nobody said much.

None of the church ladies

went into the parsonage

even though Mom wanted them to make sure it was clean.

They just shrugged their shoulders.

It came time to go

and Mom tucked the baby into the front seat

and the boys and me into the back seat

and there were tears

and hankies fluttering

as noses and eyes

were wiped

and Vera stood back

and I wanted to jump out of the car

and run up to her and hug her

to pieces

but it would only upset Mom

so I just looked at her sassy face

so as never ever to forget her

and she lifted her pretty little hand

in a wave to me.

Daddy got into the car

and it started up just fine

and Mom got in too

and I looked out the back window

at our church

and our parsonage

and I saw that all the church ladies were crying

and the men had their hands stuffed into their pockets

just watching us go.

We went down the road and around the corner

and were gone forever.

*****************************

Music playing:

God be with you 'til we meet again,

By His counsel guide,uphold you,

With His arms securely fold you,

God be with you 'til we meet again.

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Story taken from my actual diaries

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