Karl Keating's E-Letter of December 28, 2004

**Forum Admin** · #1 Dec 28, '04, 2:07 pm

Karl's E-Letter of December 28, 2004

Topic:

A Personal Reflection at Year's End

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http://www.catholic.com/newsletters/kke_041228.asp

DaveBj · #2 Dec 28, '04, 5:28 pm

It may be sad saying goodbye, but it's always nice when they leave the nest strongly flying away on their own wings, rather than having to be kicked out by their parents.

As far as instant communication is concerned, my I recommend one of the free IM plans. My older son and I frequently Yahoo back and forth between Alabama and Korea. And it's WAAAYYYY cheaper than long-distance.

Regarding his successful completion of a difficult major--Omedetoo gozaimasu!!!

DaveBj

bonnie springs · #3 Dec 28, '04, 7:04 pm

Oh, those good-bye's, on the outside I was smiling and

on the inside I was

. When I saw my son waving to me and his last turn before he boarded the plane I thought "oh, no" this is the moment I must be brave. He was on his way to Germany! Germany, twenty years ago was the other side of the world! Ah, yes, it still is, however no email, mail and occassionl phone calls was it. He was USA property now. I was proud of him, oh so proud, but on the other hand I wanted to grab him and bring back to me, as a child. The years had slipped away to quickly. Those moments are moments we never forget. Even now as grandmother of 6! Thank you for sharing your awesome letter.

Betty J. Gonzales

Mfaustina1 · #4 Dec 28, '04, 7:43 pm

As heartbreaking as goodbyes can be, I insist in seeing the opportunities for new growth and prosperity that they can bring. It is painful to leave that which one has long been familiar. I left Illinois at the age of 17 to join the Army, was medically discharged nearly a year later, and then relocated to San Francisco, California because my new husband had family there and wanted me to attend school out there. I have since been in California for nearly 17 years! I am now about to embark on another unexpected twist in my journey. I am moving to Tucson, AZ to be near my husband's family. (the husband from CA no longer is, our marriage having since been annulled.)

I am scared about this move, but I trust that the God who has taken such good care of me throughout my life (35 years and counting), will not abandon me now.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Mr. Keating and may God bless your son and your family with abundance so that you may keep on being the blessing you are.

ps. Your book "Catholicism and Fundamentalism" was VERY pivotal in my conversion. I owe you one!

-Sincerily, Mfaustina1 member of the Catholic Church since March 30, 2002

Qui Chang · #5 Dec 28, '04, 9:02 pm

Karl,

What a great father and husband you are! All you love comes pouring through that last E-Letter !

The next time you are through St. Louis and the California fires (or whatever) delays you, you are most welcome to mooch of me. My family would be happy to do its part and act as a sort of B&B to support you and CA.

Qui Chang

MariaC · #6 Dec 29, '04, 10:50 am

Karl,

Your letter reminded me of all the goodbyes my family members have said to each other. There was an amazing amount of courage and faith involved as my grandmother and her family left what was known and comfortable in the 1930's, and settled in a new country, not seeing family for many, many years. Again in the 1960's, my mother (this time with my father, siblings and I) found herself going to a foreign country, not seeing family for many, many years. There were my own goodbyes as I went to college in the 1970's, then married and left my home for good. There are goodbyes in my near future, since my oldest is a freshman in high school and I will be saying goodbye to him in a few short years as he goes off to college.

Your son may have taken few possessions with him, but he has taken so much that does not fit in a suitcase or a box. He takes with him the example of his parents' walk in the faith, as well as his parents' love and pride. While there will be difficulties, you have equipped him well to handle whatever comes.

Thank you for such a beautiful and personal letter.

Maria

Ainchel · #7 Dec 29, '04, 4:49 pm

Perhaps now we can know in part how our Heavenly Father is also longing for the day that we will be reunited with Him. Even though we can converse with Him daily through prayer, and read His love letters to us in Scripture, there is an emptiness in our hearts that can never be filled until the day we are finally and forever going to be reunited with Him who loves us sooo much!. Thank you Karl, for giving us these blessed glimpses that help us understand a little more of the depth of God's fatherly love and longing for us.

aimee · #8 Dec 29, '04, 8:02 pm

I am the mother of 3 sons...how did your wife handle your son moving so far away? I know you both are proud of him but still its so far.................

God Bless

**Karl Keating** · #9 Dec 29, '04, 9:49 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimee

I am the mother of 3 sons...how did your wife handle your son moving so far away? I know you both are proud of him but still its so far.................

God Bless

She is handling it quite well, partly because he moved to her country and will be within an hour's train ride from her sister.

ruffwriter · #10 Dec 30, '04, 10:34 am

What a great e-mail!
It brought tears to my eyes, because my youngest son lives across country , and I miss him every day.
ruffwriter

Scotty PGH · #11 Dec 30, '04, 11:31 am

You guys really should get your stuff together vis a vis your web presence. I've registered three times in the last month to receive the newsletter and still haven't gotten it.

I've also tried to order a year's subscription to This Rock twice now via the website. No luck. I'm currently hung up on the step to select a "shipping zone." If you don't know what I mean, walk through it once and see how unintuitive it is. You will see why I refuse to go through with the purchase. Will I be charged $25 if I select the "Free shipping with $25 donation" option? The only other relevant options are to select US priority or Express, each of which add a shipping charge. That's unacceptable for a magazine subscription (and I'm sure wasn't the intention of the site developers).

I'd like to become a regular customer as I'd much rather purchase titles through you than Amazon, but your poorly designed system currently has left me with zero confidence.

Yes, I know this isn't the best place for this, but I've already contacted customer support with no satisfactory solution. So I wanted you to know that you are losing money, as I'd really like to purchase things from your site.

Ellen Marie · #12 Dec 30, '04, 5:59 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scotty PGH

I've also tried to order a year's subscription to This Rock twice now via the website. No luck. I'm currently hung up on the step to select a "shipping zone." If you don't know what I mean, walk through it once and see how unintuitive it is. You will see why I refuse to go through with the purchase. Will I be charged $25 if I select the "Free shipping with $25 donation" option? The only other relevant options are to select US priority or Express, each of which add a shipping charge. That's unacceptable for a magazine subscription (and I'm sure wasn't the intention of the site developers).

You're right; this is goofy. I must have ordered my subscription by telephone, which is what I recommend to you. Otherwise, I have placed several orders via the website, without incident. I'm sure CA would rather have you subscribe to the newsletter, since it allows them to keep track of readership. However, since I don't care to fill up my e-mail box, I read it on-line by selecting "past issues" and this week's letter.

Enjoy.

Ellen

Lovemyfaith · #13 Dec 30, '04, 11:44 pm

From everything written, sounds like Karl's son will be successful, but he sounds like someone who would be sucessful anywhere, so I hope he decides to come home after some time. My little girls are 12 and 14 and I can't imagine them being so far from me ever, I am sad even thinking it

. Or maybe Karl and his wife will head over there. Do you think Catholic Answers Live can be broadcast from overseas?

Fitz · #14 Jan 1, '05, 11:11 pm

Two of mine have left the nest and it is with pride and tears that we see them go. I had to endure my oldest daughter being deployed to the Persian Gulf to fly a helicopter for the Navy. It was the longest seven months of my life. I was proud, terrified, and just plain amazed that one of my children was in a dangerous profession. I prayed more often that is for sure. Email was the saving grace because we rarely got to use the telephone.

She is back in the states for now, but getting ready for a second deployment. I survived one, but can I make two? Of course I can. More prayer, more prayer, and then- you guessed it, more prayer.

Best of luck to your son Karl in his new profession.

TheresaL · #15 Jan 6, '05, 1:51 pm

Your e-letter brought tears to my eyes (as it does even as I write). I will be sending my 20 year old daughter to Madrid, Spain for a semester of study next Tuesday. I have to try to set aside my own feelings of how much I will miss her and my concern for her safety, and remember what a wonderful opportunity this is for her. When she has had her moments of apprehension I have reminded her of the very, very protective mother that I am, yet how excited I am for her to have this opportunity to study abroad. I tell her it will be a good experience for her, while, inside, I want to say, "Don't go! Please stay home with your family!"
I can only imagine the difficulty for parents who send their children off to fight a war.
Your letter was very encouraging to me. If you can watch your son fly off to a far-away place with no specific date of return, and do it with a calm, accepting manner, I can certainly handle a semester in Spain. Thanks for sharing your story.