There and Back Again

After the fun and excitement of having family here, things got sad and quiet last Tuesday. Everyone left that morning. The Thayns returned to Tennessee. The Fosters returned to Michigan. Over at the Shillig house Kale went back to Utah and the Atwaters to Southern California. It was wonderful having them all here. After their departures a sullen atmosphere settled in over The Compound. I moped around for several days. It didn’t help that the weather was rainy.

Good-bye to the Thayns.

Good-bye to the Fosters.

It has been so rainy. I’ve written about it so much you’re probably sick of hearing about it – especially if you live in the drought-stricken West. I suppose I should be more grateful. It has been a boon to my gardens. Everything is lush and growing fast. But it has been cool and the gray skies were getting to me after so many days. That’s why my trip West put things back in perspective.

I think you know how much I dislike traveling. It isn’t that I dislike visiting family and friends, but it’s getting there that I hate. I don’t like airplanes or airports. And I’m so much a homebody that even the thought of going away for more than a day makes me anxious. But my cousin Rick asked me to go to Utah and I couldn’t say no. He was to be ordained a high priest and he wanted me to do the ordination. I was honored he would ask me. And a trip to Utah would provide an opportunity to visit Geoffrey and his family and Daniel.

So on Thursday I flew west. I left from Elmira, New York, a nice little airport as far as airports go. I changed planes in Detroit and arrived in Salt Lake City Thursday evening. Geoffrey picked me up at the airport. Daniel drove up from St. George and arrived at Geoffrey’s house the same time we did. I was pretty tired from traveling and went to bed right away that night.

Friday morning I woke up at my usual time, 6:00 EDT which was 4:00 MDT – something that happened every day of my trip. Luckily I was able to go back to sleep, but even so I was wide awake by 6:00 MDT every morning, a bit earlier than most people. It was fun to hear Ellie and Gwen wake up on Friday morning and come down to find their Grandpa sitting in the living room. They are such cute girls. I loved being there with them.

Adorable Ellie and Gwen.

We spent the morning on Friday talking and getting caught up. Geoffrey took the day off of work. It was nice just to be together. Daniel, Geoffrey and I went out to lunch and had sushi – a treat I don’t get very often. We spent the afternoon playing games. Then in the evening we all went out for pizza. When we got back from that, we spent the evening playing games. We play a lot of games in our family. It’s a good way to spend time together doing something fun and also allowing us to chat and laugh together.

Sushi.

Games.

Saturday, after spending the morning together, Joni took the girls to birthday party. Geoffrey and Daniel wanted to treat me to a great lunch and we headed off to the In-and-Out Burger. It had been a long time since I’d had a Double-Double – Animal Style, of course. And Geoffrey introduced me to Animal Fries and Neapolitan milk shakes. It was heavenly. I wish we had In-and-Outs here. After lunch we went to the movies.

We go to the movies often here at home. Because Stacey and Hannah work for the people who own the theater, we get in for free. But I haven’t been to a movie out in the Big World for a long time and I was shocked when I walked into the giant 20 screen megaplex theater with Geoffrey and Daniel. First of all, you buy your ticket from a machine and you chose what seats you want. Then inside the theater (we were in theater #20), the screen was huge. The seats were huge and they reclined. The sound was huge. I was impressed. But the price of a ticket – almost $8.00 – was huge too. Especially when I usually don’t pay anything. We went to see Inside Out. It was a wonderful movie.

After the movie we headed home again for an afternoon of – games of course. That evening Geoffrey and Daniel drove me over to Murray to Rick and Melony’s place. I spent the rest of my trip with them. That evening we went to an ice cream social at their ward. Rick and Melony just got back from a two week tour with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and they both came home sick with colds. Melony was getting over it, but Rick was pretty sick the whole time. We all retired early Saturday night.

Geoffrey, Joni, Ellie, and Gwen.

Daniel with Ellie and Gwen.

On Sunday we went to church. Tom and Kathy Birch joined us during the morning. Rick’s ordination was to take place at 1:15 at the stake center. We had some time after church to chat before heading to the stake center. Their chapel and their stake center are within walking distance of their home, but we drove. At 1:15 we met with the stake president and other members of Rick’s ward, plus the Birches and Rick’s friend Brian. I had the privilege of ordaining Rick a high priest. After that we went home to lunch and spent the afternoon visiting. Because he was still feeling very sick, poor Rick went to bed. Eventually everyone left and Melony and I spent the evening watching Father Brown on the BBC.

Rick, Melony, and Dickens.

Monday morning Rick went to work, still feeling sick. Melony and I spent the morning talking until it was time for her to take me to the airport. I spent the rest of the day flying east. I arrived home at midnight.

I had a great trip. It was so good to be with family and friends. Our time together was too short. But it’s good to be home again. Despite having a wet summer in Utah, it still felt very dry to me there. It’s good to be back where there is some humidity in the air. I looked out the window at dawn this morning and the greenness of the world that greeted me made me sigh with happiness. I took a walk around the gardens this morning and I see a hundred things that need my attention. It’s amazing what can happen in a garden in five days – new weeds, new bugs, new flowers. Stacey and Hannah went to work this morning and the house seems so quiet. After having family here and then traveling to visit family, being here by myself feels so lonely. But I have a lot to do – laundry, mowing, weeding, chores – and I had better get busy.

Flower box on the back porch.