Take me Home

Well this trip home was definitely one that was unexpected and rushed. But I've enjoyed it. I've been able to use my landscaping skills to get the backyard all nice and I edged the bushes this morning. I've learned a few tips and tricks to getting this lawn equipment to work just the way I want it to. I've enjoyed being able to spend time at home with my family but it's just not the kind of trip that I've been able to feel totally relaxed on. I guess there is family stuff that I have to take care of. Then the tornadoes definitely disrupted three days of living, but I am grateful for them because I got to spend more time with my Mom since she didn't have to work.

I love the South though. Every time we pass by my high school all of these memories come back. My friends in marching band, pep rallies, the walk from the Business Building all the way to the Science building. I miss the teachers and administration that made me feel like I was safe and well cared for. High school isn't always everyone's cup of tea but I loved it. I feel blessed to have the teachers that I had and the friends that I had while in high school. I'll occasionally look through my Senior Yearbook and miss those days.

Another thing that I have been able to do while I'm at home and since the passing of my grandmother has been able to ask questions about my Dad. My Dad was a soldier in the Army in Vietnam. We have all of his letters that he wrote to my grandmother saved in a plastic bag that I now have. I've started reading the cursive writing from 1969 when he was in Basic Training. I've been able to see his personality coming through his letters. Sayings such as, "that's a bunch of string beans" or "that's rotten" all mean something to me because I was never able to really carry on intelligent conversations with my Father because I was so young. Sometimes I wonder what we would be talking about right now and how he would respond. I wonder what his ideas were and I wonder how much of him is within me? That's where the Gospel comes in as a comfort letting me know that Families are Forever.

I've done a lot of reflecting at home as I always do. Home makes you remember things you don't think about most of the time. But tomorrow I will be heading back to Utah-- good ole Provo, Utah! Where the mountains have snow on them and the weather is really cold... I have two homes and one day I'll be able to recognize memories in both of them.