If some all powerful person were to come to me and say, OK Tresa, you have 4 days that are all your own. How would you like to spend them? I don’t know that I would have much to add to how my trip actually panned out. My week in Utah was rejuvenating on every level. I stayed, all by myself as it turned out, in the most gorgeous condo I’ve ever seen. A condo with incredible interior design and a view of the city to die for. I got in late Tuesday night, and the first thing I did was take a long bath with a good book.
The conference didn’t start until Wednesday night, so I had a whole day in the city to myself. I slept in as late as I could, took my time getting ready, then took a walk downtown to meet my sister for lunch at a fantastic bakery where I got a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes, and took an enormous box of pastries back to the condo. Then it started raining. There is very little better than the smell of rain hitting dry concrete. Smells like home to me.
We made our way to a nearby used bookstore, where they happened to be selling a bible owned by Joseph Smith (for a measly 1.5 million.) Typically the bible is kept under glass, but we walked in right when news crews arrived so we got to watch as the owner of the store turned through the pages to show us a better view.
We ran back to my sister’s house to pick up the kids and get a quick visit with them. They are so my sister’s children. Free spirits, funny, unabashed love bombs.
Then the luxurious vacation part of my trip ended, and it was time to get to work. I spent the next three days engaged in intense conversation with some of the greatest minds and biggest hearts I have ever even heard of. It is so rewarding to come to a place full of such incredible people and be so thoroughly appreciated. I am so grateful to discover this online community of people wrestling with the faith we share with their whole might mind and strength. It is inspiring, and challenges me to keep doing more. Striving to be more honest in my head and in my heart, and more accepting of all the different roads we all walk.
I am so happy to be home and craving every chance I can get to nestle together in the arms of my family. Going away is wonderful, but it always reminds me how happy I am with what I have.