Going to miss that Edinburgh when she goes away...

So I just bought my ticket "home" from Edinburgh today. People have been asking Matt and I for awhile now when we plan to "head home" and we have had our "end of July or beginning of August" answer handy for the last few weeks. In other words, I knew about how fast the clock was ticking the whole time but there is something about having the flight that makes the thing committal and real. It is interesting because all the sudden, having that ticket, turns the routine into something kind of meaningful. It is the reverse of "feeling too much like a local". What became mundane from living here has taken on a new intensity with the thought that it is among the last times that I will do it. Running in Holyrood, volunteering with the Girlguides (last night was my last activity), meeting with my "IT Buddies" or doing read alouds, going to church, walking around town, spending time with ward members and the YW, doing my early morning swim, even my housekeeping shifts. It's a familiar feeling actually - being that Matt and I have moved 3 times in our 4 married years. Still, it hits just as hard every time and the smallest of things seem to get me emotional in the last couple of days (ie I cried pretty hard after my run today in Holyrood - it was that good of a run in spite of achy legs from a long housekeeping shift).

It is probably no surprise that the most intense thing to leave are the people I have met and the experiences I have shared with them. It never ceases to amaze me where I pick up a good friend - sometimes in the most unexpected of places (and the most unexpected of people).

Here's to the Girlguides! To those crazy-rambunctious Rainbows that modeled proper "etiquette" to me on our tea party activity and taught me how to take a cuppa in grace and style. Of course, there were lots of other good times besides that (ie teaching them how to line dance to "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and making homemade kites).

Here's to my mate Taff Powell - the chattiest, warmest Welshman friend I think I could have asked for. There is something so comforting about knowing every morning when I start a swim around 8am, there will be my friend Taff crawling in the lane next to me. 72 years old and still kicking every morning for 2K Mon-Sun. Loved his company, the Welsh and Gaelic he taught me ("Bori Dah Catie" - "Good Morning Catie") and how he always saved a story for me about his days at sea in the navy or had a Mormon/American question for me before I left the pool.

 (you know he is a good friend when he still takes a moment to talk to me with my post-swim puffy chlorine face and raccoon goggle eyes!)

Here's to the housekeeping team (the Polish dream cleaning team pictured here: Iwona, Justyna and Aneta) along with dear Alan, the soft spoken maintenance man who has just as much of a sweet tooth as me when he gets out his cuppa at the end of his lunch break. I know the lighting doesn't make this place look like much to have lunch but I have to say that it has had some memorable moments which include learning the difference between "tea" (a cuppa at the end of a meal) and "tea" (dinner) or hearing the phrase "scraggy wee bisum" from my boss who apparently breaks into old Scots when she gets angry thinking about a past employee.

Here is to Brother Burns! I met him on the temple trip back in October when he came and stood next to my seat on the bus ride back to help pass the time (and stretch out his aching legs). I knew from the moment he teased me like I imagined my grandfather would have that it was the beginning of something great. One of my favourite lines from him was when Matt gave me a wee kiss on the cheek after sacrament and he leaned over from the pew behind and put his hand on Matt's shoulder and said "Oh, now Matt...don't make me too jealous". Matt and I both agree that he ought to have a calling in the ward as "the ambassador of goodwill" as he is known to make rounds to just about every person in the ward to make them feel loved and appreciated.

And here is to my YW! What a great group of lasses to have shared my Sundays, Tuesday evenings and an eventful but memorable weekend at camp with this last year. Just look at all that personality!

Of course, that isn't an exhaustive list but I thought I would just get out a handful of them while I was thinking of it. I know there is more to miss about this place than I am even thinking of now and will only realize once I get back stateside. This is probably good since I can only handle so much goodbye at once. Feeling sad about leaving something just shows how much great I have been handed in this past year.