Happy July 2012, Everyone!

Eli sent us a snail mail letter this week. It was an unexpected surprise because usually, we only receive one weekly correspondence, his Monday (P-day) email. It was a typically joyous letter, filled with a voice that is only Eli's. I am constantly delighted by how eloquently he writes. The joy of his mission poured through every line. He loves his mission so much that I worry he might never come back! The mission secretary has reassured me that President Petersen will make him go home when his time is up. Thank you, Sister Kenworthy.

One section from this letter gave me pause. He wrote, "Mom, time is just flying by. I have been in the mission field three months now, and it feels like only a day. Where did the past year go? Didn't I just graduate from high school? Didn't I just go on Pioneer Trek? Weren't we just living in that basement apartment in Shepherd, waiting to move to Utah?" If he were here, I would attempt to answer these questions. The feeling that time is racing by uncontrollably means you are growing up, Eli. It means you are a child no more.

Remember when summer vacation seemed to go on forever? Those long, lazy days filled with sprinklers, popsicles, bug collections, and the ice cream man seemed to last 100 years. By the time the new school year approached, it felt as though a lifetime had passed. That was childhood. Age and the passage of time work together to play tricks on us. The older we get, the faster time passes. I wonder if this phenomenon is related to the experience of any trip, short or long. Whether we travel 500 miles or just 5, it always seems to take much longer to get there than to return. Gerald explained his theory about this. It has to do with the percentage of time spent "getting there" compared with the entire trip. The trip to one's destination is 100% of the whole experience, but the return trip is less than 50%. So it seems much faster. Is it the same with this "trip" through life? Perhaps.

A friend recently posted as her Facebook status: "Where has June 2012 gone?" That one was easy for me. My June 2012 was spent rocking a baby---countless, glorious hours of rocking! And what could possibly be any more important or worthwhile than that? Nothing. I know exactly where my June went, but the previous 11 months? I really have no idea. Yes, Eli, you just graduated from high school. You just had your senior piano recital, senior prom, and yes, you just went on Pioneer Trek.

And we just moved to Utah. Just the other day. The other day that was actually a full year ago. Once again, time deceives us. Since it's not likely time will slow down, may I include a couple photos to document some precious memories, just in case, down the road, in this speed race through life, we would forget.

Happy July 2012, everyone!