Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Saying goodbye...

I just realized that I've been saying goodbye a lot this year.  Almost two weeks ago we said goodbye to Braiden as we sent him off on his mission.  For weeks Jamie had been getting teary-eyed at the slightest provocation.  Me?  No problem, right?  I served a mission.  I know the drill.  No big deal.

Then Tuesday night arrived and we took a break from packing to go to the Stake Center so he could be set apart... and suddenly it became real!  And Wednesday morning in the airport?  Geez, it was harder than I expected.  Luckily, Jamie became the strong one.  Funny how things like that happen when you've been married as long as we have.

We had to get up at 3 AM and the airport was packed by the time we got there at 4 AM.  We hoped for a "terminal pass" so we could all go down with him to the gate (I didn't even know they did such things) but they only gave us one - and of course the mom gets it.
 
Isn't this a cute picture?  We took it at church the Sunday before he left.

And a couple months ago I said goodbye to Grandma Alice.  The timing wasn't good to take off work for an out-of-state funeral, but she was the last of my grandparents and Jamie insisted I go.  And I'm glad I was there to say goodbye, and it was nice to see so many cousins I hadn't seen in years.

The Delta, UT cemetery.

No, they didn't all dress that way for the funeral - they were getting ready to drive home and I guess they wanted to be more comfortable.

And the last goodbye might seem a little silly, but it was hard for me.  For 22 years I've been driving a 1991 Honda CRX.  It wasn't a practical car for a guy with 4 kids, but it was the car I'd loved ever since I was a teenager.  While my friends were wishing for Porsches and Ferarris, I just wanted a CRX.  (Maybe I set my sights a little low but I'm probably the only one who got the car he wanted, too.)  It still got really good mileage and was great for my commute but it wasn't as reliable as it used to be and was having a few problems (and I'm not a "car guy" who can fix problems).  It was surprisingly hard to see it drive away, but having a brand new car helps.


When Hondas are so reliable you can drive one for 22 years with minimal problems, you tend to stick with what works.

No comments:

Post a Comment