Thursday, June 28, 2012

summertime and the livin' is busy!

Gee, guess you know you've been away from the blog for too long when you come back and it's all changed and you can't hardly figure out how to write a new post!

It is Summer time. I have been out of school now for 3 weeks. The first two weeks I was off were very busy.The whole fam damnly went down to Capitol Reef for 4 days (more on that in another post) then I worked in my yard non-stop, getting it ready for a couple of big whoop-de-doos.

 The first was a shower for a cute, young neighbor who finally got a baby. What does "got a baby" mean? After years of trying, treatments and waiting, they brought home a darling little boy via adoption. This scenario is close to my heart as that is the route my daughter and son in law have embarked on. They are almost finished with the classes, interviews, check-ups, background-checks and home visits that the process requires. Then their profile, with picture, will be shared with young women who have chosen to place their baby and hopefully one of them will choose Shan and Andrew.

I also had my son's Mission Farewell five days after the shower. Tyler is going to Bolivia for 2 years for our church. We had about 75 people come over after the church service, in which he spoke for 30 minutes and as he spoke I marveled at his good looks and confident manner. Really, I just kept thinking, "that is MY son! He's so neat!" haha (insert tears here)
So with these two occasions, I wanted the yard to look good.

Last year, with radiation, I wasn't out doing the Summer yard fine-tuning, like I usually do. We
 (Barry, Tyler and me) put down new mulch, painted the shed, planted hanging baskets and some new shrubs and flowers in the cleaned up flower beds and put in some bricks and pavers where needed. A lot of work! But the yard looked beautiful and the weather was nice and it was fun to be outside working with two of my favorite people.

All this activity served as a distraction, to the niggling reminder in the back of my mind, that my little buddy will be leaving me for 2 years. (here come the tears again) A weekly email and 2 phone calls per year are the only contact, as you Mormons know. But those friends of mine who are not Mo are shocked at this news, finding it rather Draconian. I've been through it twice now, with my two older sons and I will say, "thank goodness for email"! There were times, before email was allowed, that we didn't hear from Barry, in rural Mexico, for weeks. The time goes fast, they come home as men, having lived in a setting much different than home, more appreciative of the many advantages they have enjoyed. I have a very firm conviction that the areas to which they are sent, are very important in their life path. So while I am sad to think of Ty's leaving, I'm also thrilled for him to have this adventure and journey of self discovery and growth in his relationship with God and to become, more fully, himself.
So, there you have it, my summer vacation so far. Stay tuned for further updates.