It will be four years in May that Luke finished his 2-year mission in Portland, Oregon. That's not too long ago, yet I had forgotten exactly what it's like to be a missionary mom. Missionary moms are a distinct and somewhat peculiar group. We have certain characteristics in common that we all understand. No one else truly "gets" us. First, we have an instant affinity for the mail carrier, especially when he or she happens to come early. We meet him or her out on the curb, excitement in our eyes and hope in our hearts that a letter from our missionary might arrive that day. The mail carrier thinks we're certifiable because we can barely contain ourselves as we wait for the mail to be distributed to our boxes.
In addition, we all have a constant and continuous longing for P-day, usually Monday, when we expect our weekly email. All week, we wait for it to be Monday, and then all day, we stay home and wait by our computers. If we absolutely must go out, we make sure our smart phones are functional and that they alert us immediately whenever new email comes in. We wait and we wait and we wait. It feels like forever that we wait until finally, we see it: that glorious message in our inbox from our missionary in the field. Our hearts leap with excitement. We can't open it quickly enough. Then we sit back and savor each word as though never was there such eloquent or meaningful language written. We laugh when we hear the "voice" of our precious children coming through the sentences. And then we cry. And cry. And cry. Not because we are sad, but because we are happy and proud and filled with incredible love when we read about the great work they are doing.
Then there are those P-days when that email doesn't come. What then? Well, let me just say that hardly anything is worse than expecting email from your missionary, waiting for it all day, and not receiving it. It happens, and there's always a perfectly good explanation. It was transfers, and your missionary and his companion couldn't make it to the library to get their hands on a computer. The mission president switched P-day that week because of a particular need in the mission. P-day landed on a holiday, and the library was closed. Ahh, so many good reasons, but they don't make it any easier on us moms at home, waiting and wishing and wondering.
Another characteristic of missionary moms is that we are inextricably bonded. It doesn't matter where we live, what we do, or what are personal circumstances are, we share an experience so personal and so life altering that when we meet each other, we feel magnetically drawn together. Yesterday, I was substitute teaching in an elementary school. I took my 2nd grade class to the library and waited with them as they checked out new books. As they lined up at the door, a little girl asked, "What does that pin mean?" referring to my "Missionary Mom" pin. I quietly replied, "It means my son is serving a mission for our church." That was all it took. The librarian, sitting across the room from me, overheard. Her eyes lit up, and she shouted from across the library,
"Where's he serving?"
"Arkansas!" I responded, thrilled to have made this connection.
"Oh, my son is in Missouri!"
"Oh my goodness, they're so close to each other!"
She stood up and came to me, as I pushed through a line of 2nd graders to get to her. Like a magnet, I tell you!
Eli has been gone one month. He spent three weeks in the MTC and has been in Blytheville, Arkansas just over a week. Already, I've fallen right back into the pattern of the missionary mom, almost as though I never left it. Right now, as I sit here, I keep glancing out the window, hoping to see the mail truck, so I can run out and greet my new best friend, the mail carrier. P-day was Monday, so it's possible I could have a letter today. There are still four days to go until next P-day. When did these weeks get to be so long?
And so it goes. For two years. I've noticed something intriguing about the whole mission experience. Other people's kids' missions seem to go by so fast, but our own kids' missions, not so much. One month down, 23 to go.
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