Nana Holds Continues...

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome back to more of the beginning of the end of this season and series, Nana Holds. Grab your coffee and join me where we left off, meeting George, John and Jenel for lunch after his unexpected release from his “new job.”

JoAnne and I walked into the restaurant and were greeted by the host. “How many?”
I explained that we were meeting three others and a flash of recognition danced across his face as he smiled. “Follow me. They’re outside.”

When we arrived at their table, George stood up to greet me. I hugged him to me and gave him a quick kiss and by that time, John was standing and I embraced him. “Welcome home, Sonny,” a nickname his dad always uses.

“Thank you.”

I re-introduced JoAnne to Jenel; they had met at our last event, and then introduced her to John, who was seated next to her, and Jenel was on his other side. After getting our drink orders, John and JoAnne began talking, so with my right ear I was listening to my husband – don’t let him know that! :) --- and with the other ear, I was listening to JoAnne draw John into a conversation about the difficulties of the recovery process, the program and other things related to the process. I was amazed at how she was able to not just talk with him, because she’s a great conversationalist, but draw him into the conversation with his thoughts and opinions. That was so encouraging.

See, she was in the beginning stages of what we had already walked through: an adult child self-destructing, but her adult child was still in that self-destructing process and not quite ready to admit she had a problem, let alone stop the behavior.

Before our food came, George’s phone rang; it was his boss, who used to be John’s boss, wanting to talk with John. Their conversation was very short, but John told us after he hung up that they were welcoming him home, and if he was ready, they invited him back to work as early as the following night. Since it was the Memorial Day weekend, John asked if he could start on Tuesday so as to get settled and back in the swing of things. He was jumping right back in the saddle, so to speak, and it was absolutely amazing that God had extended him such favor once again! Just hours out and he already had a job, a promising relationship and things were really looking good for him and little Johnny.

That first meal was more of a celebration than I thought it would be. I was amazed at the touch of grace that had been painted on the fresh canvas for his new beginning. That same grace helped me to stay out of my head and put myself in John’s shoes, thinking of the relief he surely must have felt to finally have this behind him, ready to embrace new beginnings.

Another person who was incredibly happy was/is George. For the most part, I was truly, down to my toes, happy for him, his re-ignited happiness and joyful nature that attracted me to him all those years ago spilling out and touching us all, pulling laughter from each one of us.

I had to really work at it to not let the past interfere with my present, to stay in the moments of celebration. I didn’t want my fears to rain on John’s victory, and I didn’t want my selfishness to take away his relief at the freedom that was granted to him to come home and be his son’s daddy. It was just all happening so fast, and when lunch was done, and John and Jenel stood and announced they were going to go and pick up little Johnny from school, reality hit, like a sucker punch. But of course they wanted to be the ones to go and get him.

Oh, how excited he was going to be when he looked up and saw his daddy’s face, right there at his big boy’s school. I can just see his sweet face break out in the hugest of joyful smiles, his eyes getting bigger and brighter as John told him the words his heart didn’t even know he wanted to hear: “Daddy’s home!”

Join me tomorrow for more of the beginning of the end!
Evinda

Nana holds . . . in her heart