It was ten years ago to this very day that I was supposed to go home after serving a full-time mission.
I say 'supposed to' because we were all packed, the group of us had been dropped off at the airport - the APs had waved goodbye with tears in their eyes (j/k), and my tumultuous relationship with air travel struck. A tornado hit the area and all flights were cancelled. Fortunately I had all necessary phone numbers on me still, we got in touch with the mission office, and we stayed overnight in a hotel and left the next day.
So - ten years ago I was in a hotel in Dallas on the eve of my mission homecoming. Teaching seminary, especially since we have been studying the Book of Mormon, has brought back so many memories from my mission! I feel so blessed to have had that opportunity. I was reading through my mission journal and found an entry saying how I thought that serving a mission would be one of the most important decisions in my life. And so it has. Post mission I have thought many times "everything good in my life I have because of my mission."
I know that we all have opportunities to grow and be stretched, and for some those experiences come through young marriage and mothering. I can see my friends who married before a mission became an option, and how exactly right for them their situations have worked out. But for me, I can see how serving a mission was absolutely critical to the survival of my family. And I thank God for the experiences I had.
So ten years ago I was just coming home from a mission. Five years ago we had just moved into our house on Stanton Street in Brisbane. Levi was 16 months old and I was 8 months pregnant with Ezrie. I was on the precipice of a beautiful drop into the spiritual healing that came with Ezrie's birth. A story for another time.
Three years ago we had just found out William was accepted into graduate school. Talk about a leap of faith! We moved out of the home we were renting, sold all of our belongings save 8 suitcases and 8 boxes, our car, our furniture, our beds, our wedding presents. And then waited while living first with my parents then with William's mom for five months to find out if we actually had a place to move to.
And we found out it was across country from all of my family. There was weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth. I was so NOT excited about where we were moving to. I hated the place. And it has come to be 'home' in a way I have never experienced before. And I have made beautiful friends who have carried me through some of the darkest times of my life. It was part of The Plan for our family that we move here and live here and love it here. And I am so grateful for that.
Two years ago my health was so horrible. I was two months away from finding out about tumey.
Last year we were scrambling, so desperate to try and find a good doctor for William. One year later, we are still on a quest for the right medical treatment for him. The love of my life.
Last year we had just gone through the agonizing weeks of Ezrie's testing and waiting for results. I was absolutely convinced she had some type of cancer. I again thank God that was not the case. Her knee and leg pain has been very frequent lately - I'm wondering if there is a seasonal aspect to her still undiagnosed condition. We are trying natural remedies.
Last year we were a couple of weeks away from finding out about Levi's asperger's syndrome diagnosis. Levi has come so far the last year! He loves school, he has friends there, he attends speech but they are looking at releasing him in the next couple of months. There are still tendencies and characteristics we are keeping an eye on, and as he ages, more may surface. But I am so happy with the progress he has made.
Last year I was also standing on the precipice of one of the most frightening and horrible experiences of my life (bar exam #1). I emotionally was the most out of control I have ever been in my entire life as I faced my overwhelming fears. The constant extreme stress of studying 65+ hours a week, being so concerned about William, and having to take care of every aspect of running a household of a very sick husband and three small children is something I never want to go through again.
And then I got the nursery leader calling! In a schedule where quite literally, the only two hours a week that I had to sit somewhere and not do something was during nursery time, I can look back and understand why I was in bed crying for two days after the calling was accepted and before I was sustained. That was one of those breaking points we all have. And then we put ourselves back together and move on.
And these last ten years leads me to my current position, which is a post for another day. We have had the good, the bad and the ugly. But we have each other, and have certainly been so blessed along our crazy path. Ten years of joy, happiness, uncertainty, trials, tears, growth. It's been a wild ride! One I am happy to be on.
