Awesome / Not Awesome

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...
Well this little beauty sums up my whole post in one shot.

The Awesome-
Missionary Girl got to call home on Tuesday.  By Monday night we knew it was coming, which meant I slept less than a 6 year old on Christmas Eve.  I really am ridiculous, but I'm hoping that eventually this never-ending adrenaline will have to start burning some fat cells or something.

I checked the phone every hour until it finally rang at 6 a.m. Kelly and I huddled around the speaker phone, talking to our girl.  She could only talk for a few minutes* and made arrangements to call us during her layover in Detroit, if she could. She was excited and nervous, nervous and excited.

It was such a pleasant surprise when she called again.  Her airplane departure time had passed, so I didn't expect anything; but...thanks to a 4 hour delay, I got my phone call.  I think it was the best phone conversation we've ever had! I probably talked to long and too fast, but I knew this was it until Christmas day! She sounded different already...more mature, more confident, more herself.  I was so happy to know her and be in her life.  I made it through the whole conversation without crying...until I said goodbye.  The tears and the cracked voice just came out of nowhere, but I was still smiling when I hung up.  That was Tuesday.  The only day this week I would have been able to just sit in my car and talk to my daughter.  Coincidence? Aww, come one, you know better than that!

The Not Awesome:
Fast forward the rest of my week.
Performances at school.  Teacher gifts.  Last days of school.  Jr. High promotion.  Friends in town.  Suddenly it was Friday and the most horrible post popped up on Facebook.  It was pouring rain in upstate New York...POURING! Had been for days.  Guess whose mom was supposed to order a rain coat and send it to New York??? Guess whose mom forgot to do it? You got it!   I guess you could say I took my eyes off the prize...the prize figuratively being my missionary daughter.  I mean, I do have four other children living at home, and they needed a little bit of attention this week.  Still, I felt horrible.  I still feel horrible.  She still doesn't have a rain coat.  I have someone working on it for me right now.  It's not always easy to find a rain coat to someone's specific wishes; longish, but not too long, good for heat, humidity and cold weather, cute, stylish, not flashy, cinch waist, hood, etc....

To make matters worse, I hadn't even sent her a letter.  I kept thinking I would get it done...and then I kept getting busy.  Saturday, I thought, I'll get it done on Saturday.  But then a last minute temple trip popped up with friends and I decided to go.  I felt horribly guilty for missing a letter on only the third week of missionary mom-dom (although, if you count the number of letters I have sent...but you get my point!)  Right before I left the for the temple, I got a reprieve from the guilt.  I remembered the dear elder I sent on Monday, before she left the MTC.  I had, in fact, sent a letter this week! I was still a good missionary mom!

So... it's been 5 days since we got to talk to her and I have no idea where she is.  Her P day is tomorrow, so I'm eagerly anticipating an email.  I confess I inadvertently lied to you all.  I said that the wait between dropping your child off at the MTC and hearing from them the first time was the worst...but I was wrong.  The wait between knowing they have left the MTC and hearing from them in their first area is definitely worse! Thankfully I was kept insanely busy or I doubt I would have survived it (too dramatic? okay).

I'm pretty comfortable with the fact that she's safe.  I'm sure she got where she was headed...but I'm a detail girl and I want to know it all! We live in the world of instant answers to almost everything...and yet, now that I think about it, the answers to the most important questions rarely come instantly or without a struggle.  I guess maybe 6 days isn't so bad.  Tomorrow should be a very good day.

Advice:

• Just enjoy the heck out of that airport phone call.  It's the best! Listen more than talk.

• Pick out a rain coat before your missionary leaves - especially if they're picky particular.

• * The luggage weight allowance if 52 pounds for State side travel, and apparently they mean 52 pounds.  Missionary girl spent quite a lot of time moving clothing from both of her suitcases to another missionary's suitcase because both of hers weighed in at 53 pounds! (Irritating, right?)  That is why our phone call in Salt Lake City was so short! Pack well Sisters!