And They're Off...

We’re on our way at last -- after a tearful good-bye to friends and neighbors, four of our daughters and their husbands, and all our grandchildren. (Amy and Colin are in Alabama with Air Force. We’ll see them soon.)

I knew it would be tough and it makes me cry again just thinking about each of the them, but I know it will get easier as the days go by. And I know this is a good experience for all of us. I’m so proud of all of our family for the way they have supported us in this decision. They’ve been cheering us on since the day we got our call -and they were the ones who picked us up off the floor and said, “Sure, you can do it!” when we got the second call, too. We’ll be missing a lot of family get-togethers and a lot of opportunities to help them, to listen to them, to do things together, to give them a hug. I’m sure they’ve thought about that - I sure have - but they have been so supportive. Their faith has given us faith; their courage and unselfishness has been an example to us. We love them more than anything else in the world -- to the moon and back!

After we finished our superb CES training on Wednesday last week and left the MTC, we had a couple of days to pack and load the car, then we spent Saturday with the family at Utah Lake. Every hour with them was precious. Yesterday (Sunday), after church, the family came over in the evening to celebrate Don’s birthday. Rachel, with her mom Janet’s help, surprised us with a family pedigree chart of cookie faces. It even had all four family dogs! When they walked in the house and we first saw it, we felt so loved and supported by the whole family. Each one has added their support in their own way and we have felt it. We didn’t want the evening to end...

Yup, we’re on our way, and our air-conditioned MDX - with a cargo carrier on the top - is stuffed to overflowing. I realized while I was carrying out my last little box of hair dryers, shampoo, make-up, etc., to the car this morning that that one box, alone, probably weighs more than the entire 17 pounds the handcart pioneers were allowed. We’ll only be in Washington D.C. a few months. The pioneers were starting over, forever, in a new land. We’re driving; they walked. We have a couple of laptops, cell phones with Internet access, dishes, pots and pans, personal possessions, blankets, bedding, shoes, and a hanging rod full of clothes and coats. We can stop as often as we want to get something to eat -- grocery stores, restaurants, and drive-throughs everywhere. Not much pioneering going on here, but a whole new experience before us, nevertheless. ~Pat~