Two Weeks, Three Days. Where Did the Time Go?

My blog has been pretty quiet for a while, but I guess that will just get every one used to when I leave. While I'm gone there won't be much going on here, though I am hoping that my mom will keep it updated with my e-mails and pictures once a week. So don't go away completely! I also hope that the blog will be regularly updated with my new addresses so everyone can write to me as well! I am excited for this new adventure, and the opportunity to serve in the church! I am looking forward to an absolutely amazing experience and some of the hardest, yet best times of my life! It is ridiculous how fast the time goes. It's been a month and a half since I opened my mission call and discovered I would be going to Richmond, and while in some ways it seems so long ago I can barely remember it, I also feel like the time since then has slipped by without my knowing it, and I am starting to feel slightly panicky at how much I still have to do before I go. At least after Thursday I will be at home, and not working, so I will have nearly two weeks to get things ready at home! what an exciting time! I know that I will learn so much and grow so much on my mission that I will come back a different person! I am so excited for the challenges that will help me to become the person that Heavenly Father wants me to be.

A combination of leaving and mothers day today has caused me to spend a lot of time thinking about the people who have helped me the most, and who mean the most to me. Of course, my parents top that list. Without them, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today! They are my biggest supports in anything and every thing I decide to do, even when it makes no sense to anyone but me. They are there for me, and always ready to help me when I finally humble myself enough to realize I can't do everything on my own. I don't think I could have better parents for me! There are many others who have touched my life, and many who do not even know it. Thank you to all of you!

It's strange. I've moved so often in the last 5 years that I have yet to ever pay taxes in only one state. I've lived in four different states, attended four different colleges, made all types of friends, and learned so much about myself. It's strange leaving Utah though. I've been here for almost two years... which is by far the longest I've lived any place for a while. I feel like I've finally found a place that I could stay a while (not Provo, but Utah), and I'm leaving. I guess it's also weird to think that I'm leaving, but I'll come back, but when I come back everything will be so different than it is now. Some things will assuredly stay the same, but people move on, get married, change, have babies, go out into the real world and get jobs, and yet life goes on. People come and go... you make new friends, but never forget the ones that have touched your life and changed you forever. It will be really interesting to see how things have changed when I come back 19 months from now. I'm sure that some changes will be expected, some will be complete surprises, and perhaps some things I expect to change will remain unchanged, as though no time has passed.

For a couple of days I was having a hard time with the idea of leaving. But, last night I felt a final release, like I've done the things that were important for me to do before I left, and now I'm ready to go! The next two weeks, and the final preparations getting everything ready can hardly go fast enough. I've said my goodbye, and this time between now and when I leave is just extra time... time waiting for something far grander to come. It's like a little kid waiting for Christmas. It will be a long wait, and when the wait is over, the actual event will go so fast it will hardly seem like it happened.... that is what I hear anyway!

I think that is about all I have to say today! For those that actually read this, sorry for the scatterbrained thoughts! I guess that is just how I think most of the time! I should have more time to write once I'm done with work, and at home.