A Pope, A Trip, And A Letter

I was so excited yesterday at six when I checked the news and they had elected Pope Francis I! But I was disappointed, too, because I'd checked the news at two and there was still no pope and according to journalists everywhere, the conclave was going to last forever. Darn it! I'd missed the moment I'd been hoping for! Let me just say, it is a good thing I don't have 24-hour news channels, it would have been on all the time waiting for the white smoke. I am not Catholic, of course, but I love every Catholic I've ever known. They are such a good people, and I admire their beautiful traditions so ardently. Plus, I find their ancient ways very, very fascinating, particularly the conclave. My kids and I got onto nbc news online and watched the video of his entry onto the balcony and his blessing on the 100,000 people there. We felt of their great joy. And of course, I dreamed all night about the images. I am happy my Catholic friends have a Pope. And from all reports, he sounds like a wonderful man. I hope he will be blessed as he stands for truth and righteousness!

Tomorrow night, our little family will be loading up into Daddy's little car (something about 37 miles a gallon versus 13 in the family car... but whatever) to drive back across the country to visit our family for spring break! We are SO EXCITED. In fact, saying we are SO EXCITED is probably the understatement of 2013. We have been counting down, talking about it every day, for about seven weeks now. We have been planning a trip to Disneyland with my parents and my big brother Jon and my BFF Trina (who just happens to be married to Jon... nice, right?!) for quite some time and it is finally coming to fruition. That means that in two days, we will be driving MORE then half of the length of the United States. Isn't that cool!??! We think so. Can't wait. Then we'll go back to Utah for a few days. The Double B's siblings are coming down for a little family reunion for that weekend, so it will be good. And it looks like I might even get to see my big brother Matt (who lives at the top of Utah) on my birthday for a minute or two! We'll get to see everybody in one fail swoop. Awesome sauce.
Here's the thing: I never had the opportunity to serve an LDS mission -- I got married instead. And I went to college in state. So the distance of December 1 to March 16 is the longest time I have ever gone without seeing my family. It's much different then living across the street and across the bridge. And I miss them. A. Lot. So it will be great, great, great to see them. And then, of course, we'll drive BACK across the country to the life we are building in the great state of Missouri.
But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, we are jumping off the wall excited. It is literally all we talk about.

So it should be an event. We'll leave as soon as the Double B gets home from work tomorrow, drive all night, and hopefully arrive in Utah sometime Saturday afternoon.

I learned a little lesson in cause and effect yesterday, and it goes like this: When you have a problem with depth perception in your garage, maybe due to the dark coloring or maybe due to your old age, you should probably put something up to mark your stopping point at the first possible opportunity. Because if you don't, you will probably drive into the wall one day after dropping off your children to school. Sure, you're not going very fast, but still -- it's your Durango versus your wall. And you might be happy to see you didn't actually put a hole in the wall, just a dent. But you might be sad to see that your BEDROOM wall, which is on the other side of the garage wall, has a giant crack down the length of it. Just saying.

And now, a letter:

Dear Double B,
You are many things, and I hope by now you know that my feelings for you are pretty much the real deal!  But I would just like to say a special thank you today for not murdering me yesterday. I mean, you could have. You probably should have. But you didn't. And for that, I express my sincere appreciation. It is the first time I've driven a vehicle into a wall in our house, so I wasn't quite sure how you would respond. Thank you for listening to my confession kindly and then saying (voice not raised or anything) "Well, we can fix it. I should have put a marker up for you a long time ago." And then giving me a hug and carrying on with your day. And not even going to stare at the crack in my company. You are -- if previous evidence hasn't already made this overwhelmingly apparent -- the very coolest.
Your fan for life,
The Humble Wife.

The End.