Home. We got here Wednesday night after
over 36 hours travel, (which started at the end of an 18 hour day). Our spirits
were immediately lifted as we were walking out of the concourse towards getting
our luggage and there yelling surprise were…wait for it… Emily and Kai! That
was totally a surprise. My only regret about this trip (other than so many
hours in economy class) was that Emily and her family were not going to be able
to join us. Michael still didn’t make it and they have to leave to go back to
Phoenix on Monday so they won’t actually be here for Christmas. Still what a
wonderful gift and blessing to have them here for the time they can be here.
Christmas Gift! Here are a couple pictures taken at the front end of our long
journey. We were not quite as chipper by the time we arrived.
The time we have been here has been a
bit of a whirl. I honestly have no recollection of Thursday. I know I got my
phone switched to use in the US and…I’ve got nothing. No wait. That’s not true.
Thursday night we went with Ben and Becca’s family, Merrick, Kai, and Maude and
went to the Bounce House, which was having Lights Out. Bounce House is an
indoor venue with six or seven inflatable bounce activities. Lights Out is when
they turn out the lights except for flashing lights and swirling colors.
Amazingly except for one father and his two kids who were there for a short
while, we had the place to ourselves. I wish it were possible to capture the
fun of the evening but I don’t have the skill to adequately describe the scene
of kids, literally, bouncing off the walls, running through the obstacle
courses, and flying down the slides. I wasn’t with it enough to take any
pictures but here are some Emily took.
Friday we did a little shopping, got
Rae’s phone Americanized, and then watched the Brown boys while Ben and Becca
went to Skamania Lodge for Ben’s work Christmas party. Before TRYING to get
some sleep (we weren’t very successful thanks primarily to Lincoln), almost
everyone came over to make gingerbread houses. It was a joyful, noisy, messy
time and a good time was had by all. Here are a few pictures of the process and
final product. Don’t worry Ben and Becca. There was no serious damage to your
house and we cleaned up the mess we created.
Saturday we started the day out with a
Portland tradition: Heavenly Doughnuts. Voodoo Doughnuts is better known but
Heavenly deserves its name. The Cliffords and Lundbergs came over to join us
and what it lacked in nutrition it more than made up for in taste. I was too
busy enjoying myself to take any pictures. We would really need to have
taste-a-vision to do it justice
The other major activity of the day was
the Christmas Ships on the Clackamas River. Again, the pictures don’t do it
justice but there were about a dozen boats, ships, and dinghies with lights
affixed which navigated from downtown Portland up river to Lake Oswego and
back. Sarah had organized everything and was insistent, over some opposition,
that we go down to the river and watch. Although it had been raining pretty
hard and steadily most of the day, for the most part while we were there the
rain stopped or at least slowed to a light drizzle.
Today we went to church at our once and
perhaps future Ward. It was good to see so many people we know and love. After
church everyone gathered for a family dinner. After dinner we did a cousin
present exchange since Emily and Kai are going back to Arizona tomorrow. Rae
also gave out some small presents we had brought with us from India. It got a
little crazy with all the kids running around, but it was a good crazy for
sure. Here are some pictures of that process.
I will end this blontry the way I
started it, writing about home. I can’t speak for my sisters, who moved even
more frequently and stayed in one location less time than I did growing up.
Despite the fact that we lived in Arizona from the time I was ten on, I never
really had a sense of home, as a place, growing up. Well, that’s not exactly
accurate. Wherever my mom was, was home. Also, Blanding, Utah. For those who
have been to Blanding, you may be wondering what is there in this little town
of less than 3,000, on a dry, sagebrush covered mesa at the foot of the Blue
Mountains that would constitute home. I never lived there and although we
visited fairly frequently, it wasn’t once a year on average I am sure. Still
because of our many aunts, uncles, cousins, and periodic Hurst reunions, I felt
more connected to my roots there than anyplace in the world. What is home but
where we feel most connected to who we are; where we feel most ourselves; where
we feel loved and accepted? I wish that everyone would be able to enjoy the
sense of wholeness that comes with that.
Namaste
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