The Circle of Life

The past 8 days have been full of ups and downs.

A week ago yesterday (Saturday), I picked Lyssa and her cousin up from Girl Scout Camp. Two of Lyssa's good friends joined me for the ride to Trefoil Ranch. We got to hear all about the great time they had at camp! The last time Lyssa went to Girl Scout Camp at Trefoil Ranch, I was the absolute last parent to pick up a child. That was pretty sad, especially because I got there only 45 minutes into the pick-up window! Before leaving this time, Lyssa had several conversations with me about not being the last parent to arrive. I had planned to be there right at the start of the pick-up time. Because of picking up Lyssa's two friends, I wasn't there right at the start like I wanted. However, I was there only 20 minutes into the time frame. I'm not sure if that was good or not, because once we arrived, we waited in line, in the car, for another 40 minutes! Yep! You read correctly. We picked Lyssa up at the end of the pick-up time frame. At least there were MANY other girls still waiting to be picked up as there was a very long line even after us!

Anyway, we hurried to my sister's house so that Lyssa and her cousin could shower away their camp smell and put on nice, clean clothes. Then, we all went to a baby shower for my sister. Exciting and fun! Then, we went to my mom's house and hung out for a while, waiting for another of Lyssa's friends to get home from a family reunion so we could go to the new Draper Temple so the girls could do baptisms for the dead. Lyssa, her cousin (first time!), and 3 friends were able to participate. We also had a friend's mom bring Adam and two others (siblings of one of the friends). It was a great experience. It was fun to be there with Lyssa's cousin and to share that with her.

Monday, Brian and I attended the funeral of my mother's sister's husband's brother (my uncle's brother). He had lived with his brother (my uncle) and family for over 20 years. It was very sudden and unexpected. It was nice to hear the stories that friends and family shared of their relationship with him.

This past Wednesday morning, Brian, Adam, Lyssa and I were able to go the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms for the dead. This was the first time that we went all together as a family. We had all gone, just in smaller combinations. Pretty exciting stuff! Then, Adam and Lyssa hung out in the Youth Room in the Marriage Waiting Room while Brian and I attended the sealing of our cousin/nephew and his new bride. It was very, very nice. We were able to stay for pictures on the temple grounds and then join everyone for the wedding luncheon. We all had jobs to help at the reception as well. Brian scooped ice cream; I kept an eye on the toppings and helped serve the cake; Adam helped with the gifts; and Lyssa got to help clear tables. She even got to wear a frilly apron!

Two days ago (Friday), Brian, Lyssa and I (and my youngest sister) made a quick trip to Hamer, Idaho to attend the funeral of my dad's sister (my aunt). (Adam was at Camp Steiner as a CIT. He was able to come home with our other cousin/nephew -- brother of the groom -- for the wedding.) My aunt had been battling cancer for a while. It was good to see all the family, even though it was a sad occassion that brought us all together. We left at 6:38 a.m. and returned home at 5:03 p.m. Very quick trip!

Anyway, celebrating the excitement of new life in the form of a baby and new life in the form of a marriage sealed for time and all eternity and mourning the loss of a physical body while celebrating a life well lived (twice!) this past week has caused me to stop and ponder a bit about what this life really means. I don't profess to have any answers to any questions that might arise from this type of reflection. What I do know is that our Heavenly Father loves us and is in charge of what happens. All we can do is do our best to live as He would have us live so that when it is time to return home to Him, we can be satisfied with what we did while on this earth.

~Bobi