When life gets crazy and I start to feel stressed, running often becomes therapy for me, providing the opportunity to process intense emotions.

Some days I run happy and full of gratitude; other days I run sick, tired, mad, frustrated and emotionally drained or confused. I usually run 6 days a week unless Coach Paul directs otherwise. Sad days are the worst running days because crying and running are not compatible at all.

In 4 days my family will literally change forever. My FIRST child will be leaving the “nest” as she departs the country for 18 months to do Christian service work in Singapore and Malaysia.

I’m truly happy for her and the new adventures that await, but for the last 19 years, I have been a full-time mother of 5 children. It’s a little odd to think that my family will never be the same, so I find myself reminiscing and feeling a little sad.

LAST Saturday we went snowshoeing as a family. Chelsie loves the mountains and since she will be hanging out near the hot and humid equator for a while, we opted for one LAST powder play-date.

Snowshoeing was our LAST major outdoor activity as a family of 7. When I start looking back and thinking about it, I’m not ready for things to change.

As a family of 7, we hiked in and out of our FIRST slot canyon.

Our FIRST family summit ever was Mount Timpanogos in Utah.

Our LAST Utah summit attempt was King’s peak; it included getting chased down a quarter-mile from the top due to inclement weather. That experience was another FIRST for us, to never summit a mountain we started climbing; hopefully that’s a LAST too.

As a family of 7, we climbed our FIRST peak in Colorado.

As a family of 7, we climbed our FIRST peak in Nevada.

As a family of 7, we back-packed 21 miles to climb our FIRST peak in California.

Chelsie has always led our hikes. Our FIRST born, always up front, watching out for her siblings, carving the trail and setting the hiking pace. The LAST one to complain, the FIRST child to make everyone feel happy and appreciated. The time that once seemed so far away has finally come.

Henry Ward Beecher once wrote, “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots…the other, wings.”