Utah

Thursday, Glen, Göran and I will be boarding a plane for Denver, with a connecting flight to Salt Lake City. There we will be greeted by my little brother Joe, who will drive us back to his place in Spanish Fork, where we will spend the next ten days during our family reunion. My sister-in-law Becky is a member of the Ute Indian Tribe, so part of the reunion will be spent at a Pow Wow near Roosevelt, UT. Glen has never been to Utah before, so we are planning some outings and day trips to Timpanogos Caves, Arches National Park, the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Flats. And of course, Mormon Central. But other than that, we are just very much looking forward to spending time with family.

Glen can hardly wait; he is so excited he is beside himself. He adores my family -- my parents, my siblings, all my nieces and nephews. He first met my parents when they came to Minnesota for a visit specifically to meet him a year ago April; he met everyone else for the first time at our wedding in Riverside, CA last July. And he fell in love with them (and they with him).

We're all a bit stir crazy, anxious to just get away from Minnesota. Not that we don't love it here. But we're ready for more mountains, less humidity, and a change of pace. And family!

I'm so grateful for my parents. I miss them. We've grown so incredibly close these last few years, closer than ever before in my life. The time I spend with them is literally sacred to me. I look forward to long walks with my mom and dad, play time with nephews and nieces, and talks with my siblings. Göran will spend lots of time in the kitchen with my mom. Glen will hang out with his "cousins."

I don't get to go to the temple. But my family is my temple. It is where I enjoy relationships that are literally eternal. Where I belong unconditionally, where I am loved and embraced, where I can pray out loud, and where I can speak freely of sacred things. There was a time in my life when I never thought I could say this, but it is with my family that I am most myself, where all the aspects of my life, my relationship with my husband, and my faith all come together without contradiction. I feel so incredibly lucky.

Two more days!