I am home again. April has been quite the month!

I left on April 1, driving with my daughter and son-in-law down to Utah where they were moving. We spent 5 days on the road. Well, technically 6 because we stopped and visited his family on day 5. If we’d have driven straight through we’d have made it that evening, but the stop was much appreciated.

When we got to Southern Utah I stayed at my parents house, which is a good central location for visiting not just my daughter, but all my siblings and their families. My mom occasionally calls it grand central station as it is a hub of activity and there’s always a lot of people in and out. It’s perfect though when visiting because everyone just naturally gathers there.

The next 3 weeks went by way too fast. Mornings were the only slow time of day. I woke, ate breakfast, read my scriptures, and then worked on my website or painted, often with my niece as she spent several mornings at grandma’s house doing online school.

Lunches were either really busy at home, or were often ate out with family or friends. 2 times a week my mom fixes lunch for a grandchild and all their friends (high school age). This has been a tradition for many years because she lives pretty close to the high school and it’s an open campus. Monday’s it’s my nephew and friends, Wednesday’s it’s my niece and friends. They are fun to listen to, and love coming and getting a home cooked meal.

After lunch, the afternoon activities begin. Many afternoons and evenings were spent watching some sort of sporting event. This time of year it’s baseball, track, and soccer. Over the years we’ve watch football and basketball as well. It did make me appreciate my kids indoor sports (basketball and rock climbing) as it was freezing and raining one day, and then 90 degrees and hot the next. I like the indoor, temperature controlled environment! We also had many dinners together, played games, and just generally enjoyed each other’s company.

The last 2 days I was there were the whole reason I stayed so long. My daughter graduated from college! This was exceptionally exciting for her, not just because she finished college, but because she graduated in 2020 and they didn’t hold any graduation ceremonies. She was super sad about that. She finished her degree in December, but was finally able to walk this past Friday. There was a commencement evening, with the speakers and what not. She said it was everything she had hoped it would be and I was grateful she was able to finally experience her own graduation.

The last night I was there, I talked to my husband on the phone. He said he was sure glad I was coming home the next day. I thought that was very sweet. I, on the other hand, was not ready to leave yet. I am so grateful to be home, to see my husband and sleep in my own bed. But, if given the option, I would move much closer to my family than we live now.

The last evening, I was at dinner with my brother and his family. My nephew leaned over and whispered that he was sad I was leaving. I told him I was sad as well and wished I lived within, at most, a few hours drive so I could be there more often. He said, “yeah, like 2 minutes away would be really nice!” I thought that was the sweetest thing ever.

I will be starting up my featured artwork section here at the bottom. Last time the week I started out on was like a second or third week in the middle of the week, and I kept forgetting, so I will be starting that featured artwork piece probably next Sunday so it’s a first and third week and hopefully easier to remember when to change it!