Notes from behind the Zion Curtain

Not a bad view from behind the Curtain

Thanks to a pilot who must have traded his soul to that she hag, Mother Nature, what was going to be a two-hour plus delay was only 30 minutes today, getting me back from the Zion Curtain with time to spare earlier this evening.

It was a great three day trip for me, although the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML gets eight days. I don't want to turn this into a horrible blog version of your Aunt Shirley's three week trip to the Holy Land with her friend from Bingo, Ruth, you know the one who's husband had the thyroid...you get the point. So here are the highlights:

Week Two from the Zion Curtain
Most importantly, it's Monday, which means our weekly update from TMFKATB. This week's letter was great to read. He's settling in well and is very busy. Health-wise, he feels really good and we are so grateful for that. Service opportunities abound and he's getting to work with Spanish speakers. He doesn't like arepas (he's working with several people from Venezuela and Colombia now) which was a blow to me. They are delicious. It was very odd for me to drive by the exit for the city in which he's serving on Saturday morning. When I saw it as I hurtled down the I15, I, of course, started to cry. I knew he was out there, getting ready to go to work. I resisted the urge to veer off the freeway and go find him. He's got better things to do.

The Greek Wedding
The purpose of our trip was to attend the wedding of the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML's cousin. SML grew up close to her cousins and we couldn't miss this event. Our daughters joined us so it was a mini-family reunion. Alison's wedding was in a Greek Orthodox church and it was amazing. Alison was a beautiful bride and it was so fun to see family. The whole shindig was somewhat reminiscient of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" in a lot of ways. If I'm being honest, though, I was saddened to not see a tidal wave of Windex. The homemade Greek pastries at the wedding dinner more than made up for it. Here's some scenes from the event:

Just missing The Boy and The Grandson

The women in my life - how did I get so lucky?

Glad my hair is as gray as my suit

The Grandson
One of the bonuses of having a family wedding in the Zion Curtain is that we get to stay with The Awesomes. This means hanging out with our grandson. It doesn't get much better than that, I have to tell you. He's just turned two and has become incredibly verbal. One of my favorite parts of the trip was to hear him hollering, 'Bampa! Bampa!' Each time I heard it, his wish was my command. Whether it was riding his bike, walking his neighborhood and finding every ant on the sidewalk, swimming, or sneaking fruit snacks, we had a good time. I had to say goodbye to him last night and again, I shed a tear or two, allegedly. As I drove to Salt Lake, I muttered repeatedly to myself, 'I can't keep doing this.' It's tough to be this far away from him. From the Awesomes. From CAL. I'm turning into an old softie in my middle age. I've got to do something about that.

Riding dirty