August 4, 2009 - 5 Years Ago

August 4, 2009... might not seem like it was a momentous date or occasion, but for me, it was the ending of life and the start of a new life.  Things were about to drastically change and I was not even capable of comprehending what would come to pass from that point on.

That date I am talking about is the day that I returned home from my mission.  Has it really been 5 years?!?!  And yet, I know that in the blink of an eye it will be 10, 20, 30, 50!  Often times when I am talking to my father he reminisces about his mission days, often starting off by saying something to the effect of: "Let's see, I was in 'such and such' area, I had been out about 'x" amount of months... that was 30, no wait, 40,... nope, it was 45 years ago... wow..." ... Yep, every time he recalls the exact amount of time it has been since his mission, I somehow feel as though I am only a baby in the age of long gone.  And yet, for those who have only just returned, I seem so old and out of touch with what it was like to be a missionary.  In only 5 short years, so much as changed and progressed in the world of missionaries.  I really am out of touch with what is going on.  I do have to give myself credit, I might be out of touch in that world, but I am in touch with this new world that I live everyday, the world of mommy hood.  I might have left that world behind, but a new way of living has taken its place and now consumes my every waking minute.

5 years ago I was single, living in AZ, a year and a half away from finishing my bachelor's degree, and didn't have a clue as to the direction I wanted to take my life (or in better words, didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up).

Today, I am married (to a man I met while on my mission and it will be 4 years in April), I have 2 children (who will turn 1 and 2 on May 25th), graduated with my BS in 2011 from BYU, and still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

So yes, a lot can happen in the course of 5 years, a lot can change, but the mission will never ever be forgotten, no matter how much time passes.

I still dream in Italian a couple of times a week.  I still think of people who I met, taught, laughed with, loved and had the pleasure of serving almost every day.  I am disappointed by how much I have not kept up with my Italian language skill, yet I always have it written on my to-do list to study.  I wish that I kept in better contact with a lot of these people but also recognize the reality of the situation that we live in.  I continue to dream that I will go back and see everyone there again, perhaps through the military and Eric's career we will be able to.  I continue to have my testimony grow from experiences I had while laboring among those crazy, loud, spontaneous, lively, amazing Italians.  I love to reminisce about the ways that Italians would do things vs. the way we Americans do things.  For example, the other night at dinner I had on my plate at one time a salad, vegetables, and the main dish; and within about 30 seconds of starting to eat it I laughed in my head at the notion of what an Italian would think looking at my plate.  I still attempt frequently to cook as they do, never quite being 100% successful because there are just some things you can't replicate as Italian while living in the middle of the United States.

The mission changed me and I am forever grateful.  Time will continue to pass, but I will never forget.

Forza Italia!

Finally It's Time

I have been dreading working on this project just because I know how much of a monster it is going to be.  But I know that if I don't do it, I will regret it all the rest of my days.  So, little by little I will tackle this... this being:  Catching Up On The Blog (doom doom doom).  I can't promise when, I will promise that at some point in the future (near future preferably) I will be caught up and will only have to post on a consistent basis such as to maintain the activities of our family.  

Wish me luck, I am going to need it.