May 13, 2012

Mother's Day. Two words that can make a woman smile, shed tears of joy, or want to bury her head in a pillow. Some years are wonderful, some years are hard, depending on where you are in your life and what's going on around you.

For me, this Mother's Day was magical. Truthfully, I haven't been looking forward to Mother's Day (or holidays, in general). We've been fortunate to have all our children around us over the years, and holidays have always meant family get-togethers - but not this year. I knew I was going to miss my family, A LOT, and with the 7 hour time difference, two daughters out of town, and everyone's different church schedules, I wasn't expecting to be able to talk to most of the family anyway.

Our drive to Brighton

Well, today wasn't anything like I had thought it would be. This morning we drove to Brighton to attend church. Almost all church meetings here (the LDS variety, that is) begin at 10 a.m., so we didn't have to hurry. It was about a 45 minute drive and it was a beautiful morning. Because of all the rain during the past several weeks, we appreciated every little ray of sunshine as we drove south -- and it was gloriously sunny. The fields were a patchwork of emerald green and brilliant yellow. As we crested a hill into Brighton, we were met with a magnificent view of the English Channel.
Today it was a shimmering sea of aquamarine.
The world can be such a beautiful place.

The English Channel is in the distance.

After church, we had a pleasant surprise - something that we haven't experienced before. The Brighton Ward bishop and his wife invited us to their home for dinner. What thoughtful, kind people! We appreciated their generous hospitality and the delicious dinner. What a treat!

The best part of the day, though, was still to come.  Unbeknownst to me, when some of our family got together a couple of months ago, they hatched a plan to send me something for Mother's Day. They mailed us an odd-shaped box that Don confiscated a few days ago when it arrived here. I got to open it this afternoon. It was the best gift ever!!!

The first thing I saw when I opened the box was a big piece of paper that read, "We all came for a visit, and we can stay as long as you want."  Then, I unrolled my "flat family". You might remember that last October when we were in Washington, D.C., we received a package from Kristen which contained "Flat Ammon" and "Flat Laina." We loved it! It was almost as good as a real visit from our two youngest grandchildren. Well, today I received the rest of the family! They had all made a life-size and smiling paper replica of themselves, then rolled themselves up in a tube.  Seeing all of them come tumbling out of that tube made me cry!  I unrolled them one at a time and taped them up on the walls all around our living room. Now our whole family is here with us! It is the coolest thing ever!

Of course, Don is wondering how long they're all going to stay. I told him that if he wants to, he can take them down after Father's Day....  Who knows, though. By then we may just decide to leave them there a whole lot longer. Seeing all their smiling faces looking at us is enough to keep me going all year!          ~Pat~