Death is not the end

Have you ever driven somewhere fairly far away, stayed for a short time and then driven back?  James and I did that yesterday.  On Friday we drove down to Midvale to his parent's house and then woke up EARLY on Saturday and drove to Washington (St. George.)  One of James' friends from his mission died last week from cancer.  She was only 30.  The funeral was an amazing tribute to a life well lived and well loved.

We woke up at 4:30 so we could be on the road by 5:00.  We figured we would give ourselves plenty of time to get there for the funeral at 11:00.

A view of the sunrise in one of side mirrors

The funeral was such a celebration of a wonderful young woman.  She touched so many lives, including my husband's.  They met on their missions and stayed in touch as they both attended USU.  When James had his jaw surgery, Whitni was one of the few who visited him.  Although I never met her I feel like I know more about her through the memories shared by her family and friends.  I'm looking forward to meeting her in the next life!

Apparently there were NO street signs in Washington!

Good bye Red Rocks!

 It was surprisingly tiring to spend that much time in the car (although waking up at 4:30 might be a huge part of the problem.)  When James and I woke up this morning, we felt like we hadn't slept at all.  We packed up the car and headed home for church.  Church is the best way to spend a Sunday.

I almost posted my journal entry from ten years ago.  I evidently thought I had written something profound to capture the feelings of a wounded nation but not so much.  I was overly flowery and just sounded ridiculous.  In fact, I read the entry to James without pre-reading it and he laughed.  It was that bad.  Here is what I remember:

I woke up that morning after the first plane hit.  I can't remember if I saw the second plane hit, the overwhelming news coverage sort of obscures the real memory.  I was weeks into my first semester at Weber State and I didn't have Dr. Elsley's Intro to Fiction class until 11:30.  I remember sitting on my parent's bed, glued to the TV, realizing that the world had been changed.  I called my friend Kristin because it was her birthday that day. (Side note, I had THREE friends who were born on awful days: Pearl Harbor Day, Oklahoma City Bombings and September 11th.)  The sight of the huge buildings falling down was shocking.  I had visited New York the year before and I had pictures of the twin towers as viewed from the Empire State Building.  I remember how eerily dark the sky was that night and the nights following.  

I'm off to watch the CES fireside with Elder and Sister Oaks.  You should too! It's on the BYU Channel right now!