Happy Birthday Missionary Girl

Dear Sweet Missionary Girl,

You're turning 20 years old today and I can't help but wonder where the time has gone. You're not even a teenager any more! Wasn't it yesterday when I made you answer the pediatrician's questions yourself, or order your own food in the restaurant because you were so afraid to talk to people? Now look at you, you're out there talking to people every day...and not just talking. Teaching. Sharing. Boldly testifying of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. You've come a long way. We've come a long way. You've been easy to raise, easy to love and you're even easier to miss.

You know I miss you. I try not to dwell on it in letters and emails, but alas, 'tis true. Last week I was running around, giddy with the excitement of the missionary- birthday-planning. (I totally hope you loved the cake...can you believe I mailed a cake??) This week finds me less giddy, and more melancholy - I just miss you...and it's your birthday...

So to cheer myself up (and make myself cry it seems), I've made a list of 20 things I love about you. There are more of course, but I picked 20...because you're 20... make sense?  Okay, moving on:

1. Your sense of humor is delightful. I love our inside (and outside)jokes!
2. The movie quoting...need I say more?!

    "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna throw up and then I'm gonna die!"

3. Your laugh! I know you're self conscious about it, but it's the best. So happy!

4. Your loyalty. You've been blessed with great friends, because you're a great friend.

5. Your work ethic. Remember those shrubs you hacked out of our yard?

6. Your tenacity. Some people use the word stubborn...but it's not the same.

7. Your courage. You do hard things. You're a brave girl young woman.

8. Your smarts. I love that you have a brain and you're not afraid to use it. A lot!

9. Your love of dressing up for Halloween...though occasionally I find your costumes disturbing interesting.

10. Your complete & utter love of BYU-because at 15 you declared it was too (and I quote) "Mormon-y!"

11. Your foodiness! Love that our 15 favorite restaurants are the same!

12. Your goofiness. You're not afraid to have fun.

 

13. Your love of musical theater!

14. Your love for Disneyland and Disney movies.

15. Your love for your family. Your letters to the kids. Hanging out with Great Grandma Curtis. Eating  with Papa & Grandma every Sunday at school.

16. Your love for the temple.

17. Your knowledge and testimony of the gospel. It is amazing and beautiful to me.

18. You're unwillingness to compromise your standards and settle for less than you deserve.

19. Your desire to be a missionary. You make us so proud.

20. That you are ours...forever.

Last night I saw the Sister Missionaries at In n Out...which is where I know you would be on P day...if  New York had In n Out. I gave them both a hug, happy that I could do their moms a favor (we're friends on Facebook!)  and then I realized, I was the one getting the favor. I couldn't see or hug my Missionary Girl, but I got to spend time with these two bubbly, happy, enthusiastic Sister missionaries, in your favorite restaurant! It was such a tender mercy and I felt blessed by the whole experience. I hope there's a mom in New York, who tells you Happy Birthday today and gives you a hug. If I'm really lucky, she'll tell you it's from me!

I love you to the moon and back, Missionary Girl. Always remember, no matter how old you get:

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always- As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

Love, Mom

Blog? What blog?

Last Sunday in church one of my fellow missionary moms leaned over to me in Relief Society and asked, "so, are you not doing your blog anymore?"  I was simultaneously happy and sad! Happy that someone noticed I hadn't been blogging as of late, and sad that I hadn't been blogging as of late.

You know how it is, one minute you're curled up in the fetal position on your bed, crying because you're going on vacation and your daughter's Mission President won't know how to get a hold of you if there's an emergency...and the next minute it's been over a month and you haven't touched the computer....(side note: there were no emergencies, so crisis averted).

I really was nervous about leaving; it just seemed weird to me to not be at home with my missionary out.  I may have exaggerated the fetal position...a smidge...but there were definitely some tears.  Missionary Girl loves Montana...with a capital L...I was lonely for her while we were there.  And just to add insult to injury, my other Missionary Lady, my mom, who also loves Montana, was not there either!  But, I can freely admit, we had a great time!



Miss you Mom, Tina and Kenzie!


We were in a cabin on a lake...life was sweet. We had smores! We had boats, and Sea Doos and swimming and shopping, hikes and late night chats and even an attacking swarm of wasps. We had a hail storm on the drive up that broke part of my moon roof and dented my hood! We had everything...except wifi!!

Now I have never, ever missed sending an email to Missionary Girl.  Never.  I came close once, but that was because she went to the library two hours earlier than usual...two hours! Who does that? Oh, maybe missionaries who are working and have appointments to get to, even on P-day.  But I am getting ahead of myself, so you can read that story at the bottom of the page...it's a doozy! Back to never, ever.  I wasn't about to start now.  Saturday night I typed up a letter on my laptop and took it  to church with me on Sunday. 

Let me pause to tell you something about church in Big Fork, Montana in July and August.  It is crowded.  Like, General Authority speaking at Stake Conference, crowded. Every time I pull into that parking lot I get teary eyed seeing all the cars from across the country and the country next door (Oh, Canada!) jammed in there.  There are TV's in most of the classrooms, piping in Sacrament Meeting to all the overflow.  People in varying degrees of sunburned to tanned are off the lake and sitting in church...and I love it! My kids' favorite part is that after Sacrament Meeting is over, the Bishop stands up and announces that the rest of the classes are cancelled because the of the fire code and we all go home.  (Okay... I like it too...it's just once a year!)  The Sister missionaries in the ward were a little ticked because they brought investigators to church and then the last two hours were cancelled, but here's my take on that.  What a testimony builder!! People on vacation are taking the day off to worship.  People from everywhere! We're there because we love the Lord.  We're there because we believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy.  We're there because we choose to be. 

After Sacrament meeting I was able to connect to the internet (with the help of a teenager, of course) and make sure my girl got her letter.  I was able to read hers the next day and all was right in my world.  I was gone for nearly 3 weeks between Montana and Utah, and my blogging fell by the wayside a bit, but I'm back.  We've had a great summer and the kids go back to school in ten glorious days! I love them to death, but they do wear me out.  That's why sometimes I sleep in...which is how I almost missed sending that email this summer... funny story...here you go!

That fateful morning I miraculously went from sound asleep to adrenaline - induced consciousness in about 1.2 seconds.  I grabbed my cell phone, clicked onto my email and saw the words:  "No emails! I will be here for 45 minutes!"  To her credit there was no frowny face icon on the subject line...but I felt it just the same.  I jumped out of bed, paused to keep from passing out (because then how would I get an email off in time??) and ran downstairs to coax our prehistoric computer to life.  (Oh Mac, someday you'll be mine!)  I called my husband at work to let him know Missionary Girl was at the library 2 hours early so he could get his email off as well. I began to pound away at the keyboard and was 4 paragraphs in -when what to my anguished eyes should appear, but a deleted screen, my deepest fear!  I was stunned...I was horrified...I hit refresh, undo, help, cancel, what the heck, and are you kidding me buttons, but nothing worked! NU-THING! I had no choice but to start over as the clock ticked on.  I hit send at 42 minutes.  It wasn't the letter I would have liked to send, but it was a letter...and it counts! :)

I'm so thankful I woke up in time to send the letter.  I don't believe it was coincidence, I believe it was a little help...a little nudge.  My girl would have been sad for a week, I would have been a train wreck for a week, so it was better this way.  I learned to be more prepared and I will no longer wait until Monday morning to send an email...because it's Monday...and you know how those can be!