The car was full again. Mary stood to the side and hugged her father. Sara stepped forward and pulled her oldest child into her arms. The young woman towered over mother. Mary was four inches taller than Sara and looked just like at the age of eighteen.
“Are you sure you are okay driving by yourself?” Roy asked her.
“Yes, Dad. We have driven the route several times now. I can make my way there.”
“Okay, be careful.”
Mary slid into the car and waved as she drove away. Roy moved to stand next to Sara.
“Our little girl is off to college.”
Sara nodded. “Hard to believe.”
“Erick will be graduating from high school in the spring. Just another year and then Leslie will be gone.”
Sara felt a pang of loneliness hit her. She nodded. To hide her tears, she turned around. “I need to get the last of the corn from the garden.”
“Okay. I’ll be in the barn fixing the milking pen.”