So, now I'm back home and took a little vacation of my own this past weekend. I went down to our Texas house to check on it and mostly to have a little break. I would actually love to have had my boys all there with me too, but we were worried about confusing Lincoln by living in our old house for the weekend. It turned out to be such a nice time for me and a real break.
The first thing I wanted to do was to see Mimi and her new baby so I went straight there before going to our house or anything. It was really nice to be able to sit with her and be a part of the everyday normals that I've missed. We have done a lot of everyday normal, but it is always more fun together. We were planning to go to the temple the next morning so I called my grandpa to see if he wanted to come with us and he told me that our family from Hong Kong was still in town. I took an offer to join them for their last evening and was happy to have the chance to sit and visit with them and play Cranium (Angie's favorite - mine too really). It was the first time in a long time (let's see, 3 years or so) that I've felt completely relaxed at Grandpa's house, not worried about someone breaking something.
The next morning Mimi and I drove out to the temple as planned, but it was closed for cleaning. I admit that I wasn't sad... it gave us a chance to really spend time together and we were able to talk and relax. We spent some time at the book store, just browsing, a treat to moms of small kids. I'm so grateful to her for taking that time with me away from her own family so that we could chat.
We also played with her kids in the afternoon, swam at our pool like old times. In the afternoon I went to visit another friend, Wendy, and ended up spending the whole of the evening with them. I thoroughly enjoyed being with their family, especially on a special day (Doug's birthday). I felt privileged to be with them and watch their family work.
I had a few people that I had questions for and was glad to have opportunities to talk with them.
I feel like I had some big questions anwered while in Texas. I have a renewed strength to go about my daily life here. I am in a hard moment, but I'm not without hope. I sort of felt like I was an the MTC all over again and I knew I had to go back out into the field. That's the closest association I can make. It was easy there and comfortable, lots of learning moments, but I also longed to go back out and make a difference.
I'm working hard at remembering those things so that I can be strong and fulfill my purposes in being here. I'm so grateful for the smiles of my children, the amazing love of a giving and selfless husband, and wonderful parents that are close by and generous.
