A Day of Travel...

Today was a different day. I will admit that as recently as a week ago my plans for the next few months were pretty much strictly set and ready to enforce. And then I got a gluten exposure and became so sick that I lost a baker's dozen worth of pounds, stopped sleeping and then discovered that my last grandmother is gone. So instead of rigidly working on things I have thrown together a bag and I am flying out to Utah. It feels so strange to be doing this- a part of me feels like I have almost run away from my responsibilities. But I am determined to use this opportunity that has been thrown into my path. I brought some homework as well as some work for mailing and I am ready to continue on with much of the work that is currently engaging my time. I also have a few goals and I hope that maybe some of my family will be willing to help me out with them. Here they are: 1. I would like to go to the family history center in Salt Lake for one day and do research on a few things. I have a genealogy job to complete as well as some questions to answer about some work that I have been doing. I have three lines that I am working on from three different families and it would be awesome to get a little bit farther on with those! 2. I have a list of a few things that I wish to get from the Distribution Center for some members at church and myself. A trip to a bookstore wouldn't be out of the question either... ;). I love the talk tapes that I got last time I was in Utah and the best ones for me seemed to be on the clearance rack so I am hoping to be blessed in that regard again. I am sure that my church library would love me to be lucky too. :) 3. I brought my temple recommend and I would like to go to the temple at least once. My preference is a minimum of two times as going to the temple at home is a little tougher and I will not be attending my temple trip this Saturday... as I will be in Utah! It seems perfectly foolish to be so close to several temples and not to take advantage of this opportunity. I am blessed that a kind member mentioned the temple in passing to me on Sunday- otherwise, I think I would have forgotten my recommend entirely as I was so focused on getting down to Utah and what it would entail planning wise. But I brought it and I would love to take advantage of the opportunities that are available. 4. I want to spend some good time with family. I desperately want to see that they are good and healthy... and maybe I am in need of some assurance that even though I have problems I am a good person and that people want to be around me. Silly, but there are my cards flat out on the table. 5. I do so want to get my hair cut and styled. Something that helps me to feel beautiful and different than the tired and well worn mother that I am. While traveling today has been exhausting, I have had many blessings and fun. My alarm didn't go off but I managed to get up and get going pretty quickly. I got my library books and the CPR mannequins dropped off and managed to get to a friend's house without hitting the slowly lumbering skunk that was crossing the road on the Brooklin border. The skunk was a juvenile- could tell from the stripes and he was smallish- and that poor skunk didn't seem to have any idea of how to deal with my car. So he simply stopped looking at me and kept plodding along... isn't that something cats do- close their eyes or not look at you in the hopes that you will not see them? It was quite cute. My beautiful friend got me to the airport and I was able to get on the flight. I tried to chat with some people and was friendly and actually had fun. I was overwhelmed by the views out of the windows of the plane and by the sheer quantity of space and people. It amazes me every time I leave Maine and I think that is a clue as to why I love Maine so much. If I am weird, there are fewer people to notice. I can mow my lawn in the nude and only a rare coincidence would turn it into an embarrassment. I can feel Heavenly Father closer because I can hear his creations more than the machines of men. And I become one of those creations. The views of Philadelphia that seemed to stretch as far as my eye could see- Phoenix is so flat that the views of the city and suburbs appeared never ending through the windows of the jet. The portions of the grand canyon that I could see were awe inspiring but also a little boring... after all, it seemed fairly small and from my height some portions simply looked like large rips in the earth. :). Seeing the mountains again was wonderful too. I have completed some homework, finished a book and even had a little food that I packed to eat... including four cupcakes. (So I should probably watch my diet for the next week as that was a week's worth of desserts that security wasn't sure I should bring through. They kept me remarkably full though and were absolutely decadent. :). I had my bag checked for free and so I didn't have to carry it around and enjoyed the free juice and the dry air. So... Salt Lake City. Here I come!