Traveled back to Nevada for a baby blessing. It is my sister's fourth and she finally made a boy after three girls. Luckily it has been a mild summer and it was ONLY 104. That was its own blessing.
Great to see family for our quick 24 hour jaunt. I drove because the boys had been our partying after DJ's last night of his musical. They fell into bed at 3 and we jumped in the car at 6 to make the 11:00 am meeting time.
(I haven't felt like blogging because of all the changes going on around here. More on that later.)
Just by accident, my sister managed to move into the church boundaries for our old ward. It was so cool to see so many familiar faces. It made it even cooler that people were still happy to see us again.
We lived there for the first four years of our decade of terror. My coping mechanisms have always been humor, sarcasm and general smart-alecky-ness. I know I tried to keep my frustration in check but the truth is....sometimes....I was not at my best and I apologize.
It was hard to be happy. It was hard to keep my chin up. I did not leave that valley with happy memories filling my thoughts. I left with bitterness, anger, sadness and fear. I thought that leaving would make everything better and easier. In some ways that was true and in others...it was just a warm up. One we needed for coming attractions.
I am grateful we could leave some good memories for our friends. They certainly deserved our best.
What makes it all worth it is that now that things are calming down around here.....good memories are coming back. When I drive back to the valley...I LIKE it. I ANTICIPATE seeing people and catching up on their lives. I'm THRILLED to hear about all the good things that are still happening. I don't dread it anymore. It is wonderful to start replacing the tough stuff with happiness again.
ALL I can say is. STRESS paints life with a very dirty brush. It is so hard to see anything good when you are drowning.
So....hooray for this little valley and band of families. Thank you to all my friends, neighbors and church members, family and siblings. Thanks for seeing us through the night! You guys rock!
Enjoy the pics:
(Dad holding up the wall)
(Grandma Curtis and Great Grandma Leavitt)
(blessing outfit his daddy wore as a baby)
(swaddling on the fly...the girl has got some skills)
(far off in the distance...you can see faces)
(Can you see us all squinting???? The sun is searing a hole in our heads!)
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