Good-bye, parting is such sweet sorrow...

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.--Kahilis Gibran

We said good-bye to our oldest daughter this week. She will be living in the Holy Land until April 23, 2009. As we helped her finish packing and getting ready, Steve and I had an emotional moment. Okay, that's not QUITE true--we actually had numerous emotional moments. Some of these emotions manifested itself in irritation, tenseness, being on edge, and flat out weeping. I tried to keep it together, but that last hug at the airport did me in and I could not even speak. Through out the day, Steve and I tracked her flights online, and that evening we all emailed her so that she would have a message waiting for her when she turned on her computer at the Jerusalem Center. When we received her email back, I immediately forwarded it to family and friends and Steve couldn't resist giving her a call. Today, Steve came up to me and said, "I miss my baby. Would it be bad if I called her again?" No, it wouldn't. We all miss her. It is much calmer and quieter at home, yet we miss her vitality and sense of fun.

This recent parting with Kelsey has brought to mind other partings in our family. It's been a little over twelve years now that my family gathered around the hospital bed of my brother Mark and sang to him our good-byes before his spirit left his body. How grateful I am that we had the chance to say good-bye to him, and tell him we loved him. I know this separation is temporary, but it is still hard and we miss him. I can't help but think of another parting in our family, that of my sister, Julie. Without knowing it, I said my good-bye and "I love you" to her at the end of what would turn out to be my last visit with her. I am grateful that I told her. I am sad that she left the way she did, but I am glad that she knew that I loved her.

One thing that my kids are really good at is saying the words, "I love you." We say that to each other a lot, and so I am okay with parting for a time because "There are no good-byes, where ever we are, you'll always be in my heart."

Karma is a beautiful thing...

Last week while on a walk/run with Jody, I randomly told her that I was going to go shopping that day to buy myself a new set of sheets. I love my bed, I love to sleep in my bed and hang out in my bed, and the best feeling in the world is climbing into bed with a set a freshly laundered sheets. So, a new set of sheets just felt like an indulgence, yet with a practical side that I could justify. Well, my cute friend--always the giver--immediately asked me what size I needed, king or queen. It turns out that she had an extra set of brand new sheets in her storage (given to her by one of HER friends) and that if I wanted them they were mine. The color was good, the thread count decent. I offered to buy them off her, but being the awesome friend she is she wouldn't go for that. So, I took them home, laundered them up, put them on my bed and that night I slipped between fresh, crisp, clean sheets and SLEPT LIKE A BABY!

Meanwhile, my cute husband was in St. George, riding bikes with his buddies. On the night before they were to come home, he received a phone call from Mariah, Jody's daughter. It turns out that she and her friends were on their way home from California when their car just quite on them, right on the freeway. They were about 20 miles north of St. George, and so they called Steve to see if they could stay at the condo with him and then get a ride back home the next day. So, our family received sheets from Jody, and we were able to give sheets to her family. KARMA!

Today's Hero, Edition 1 (Dec. 30, 2008)

We all have hero's in our lives who save us from potential ruin, lift us when we have fallen, support us at our most vulnerable or perform some other super-human feat that just makes our day. Steve is my Personal Super Hero. As are my daughters. The Ulitimate Heros--in my life and yours--of course is Heavenly Father and His Son and the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ. This post does not in any way diminish their impact on my life, but is a celebration of the everyday heros that each of us can be for one another. So, with a spectacular drum roll please, I announce Today's Super Heros:

Tim Allen (not the comedian, but Heather's husband and the most awesome employee at Zion's Bank who helped relieve my stress of an unintentional banking error that resulted in numerous NSF charges--thanks for reversing them. MWAAH!)

Sally from buycostume.com, who went above and beyond the call of duty to fix a problem and refund Kelsey's money.

Sandee, a client of my mom's who just got back from the BYU Jerusalem Center and has gone OUT OF HER WAY to call and come by to chat with Kelsey about what to expect for her upcoming study abroad experience.

May I do you justice by passing on your goodness.