Gone With the Wind, and Other Sentiments

 I awakened this morning at 4, and couldn't get back to sleep. I did the only thing I thought might be useful...I started a load of laundry. Then I wandered around the house, opened all the downstairs blinds as soon as the sun came up, and started going through some bins. Amazing what one finds in old bins.

It has been a lovely day. A short visit from David, Melissa and Erin and Ethan all brought cheer. There is a lot to do here, but absolutely no deadlines. I can take my time rearranging things, going through things and making the tough decisions of what to do with everything.

For instance, do you throw away an extra iphone charging cable? How about a blouse that has seen better days but is comfortable beyond comfortable. Or socks that have been multiplying and are in good shape. Better yet, clothes that are two sizes too small, and you are certain that you will be down to that size by Christmas? Precious quilts and blankets made by dear ones? Wall hangings - now that is a tough one. I have few things in frames that I don't love, but I don't have enough walls to put them all up. Do we buy a bigger home with more walls?

I think I must start a "simplifying" campaign. I will take it slowly - and that may just last the rest of my life.

We went into the Stake President's office this evening at 6:30. He visited with us, asked us about what we did, how we felt about it, and what we had learned. Such great questions, and so very difficult to express in the short amount of time we had with him. We did our best. He mentioned that we may or may not be invited to share our testimonies in stake conference Sunday.

Afterward, at 7, we joined the Stake High Council where we were given a few minutes to share where we served, what we did, and a miracle that we had witnessed.

SK talked about the miracles of being called to the England London Mission, and the miracle of being able to go back when things seemed so uncertain. When we returned in September of 2020, we were not even sure that England would allow us to stay through the end of the month, much less into October. November and December came and went, and well into the new year, the miracle of being granted permission to stay through the end of August. All that coupled with the miracle of a vaccine and being given the vaccine early in the years were incredible blessings.

I talked about Angie, and her conversion story. I love that account, and love Angie. We are looking forward to seeing her for a few days in December.

We came home, had a late dinner, and are both longing for sleep. With our England London mission squarely in the past now, I will begin thinking about the focus I would like to take with my life from this point on.

Scarlett O'Hara said it best: "After all, tomorrow is another day!"

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