Arriving Home

It's been awhile since I posted, and for good reason.

Last Thursday morning, I woke up in Billings, Montana at 5:00 am and showered. The anticipation was killing me. The other Elders and Sisters could feel it too. Despite the early hour, we were wide awake, nervous, and excited.

I dressed in my usual missionary suit, and donned a cowboy hat for the special occasion ahead. After some cereal for breakfast, the elders and sisters and I piled into a 12-passenger van and headed to the top of the rims, to the airport.

It's the day that every missionary dreams of. I was so excited, but dreading it so much at the same time. Dying to see family, but so sad that this phase of life is over forever.

The flight from Billings to Salt Lake City is incredibly short. I think we reached cruising altitude for a few minutes and then descended (no, I'm sure it was longer than that...), and the total flight was less than an hour. An hour is not a lot of time to contemplate the end of two years of amazing experiences, or to prepare to return to an unknown world back home.

But the plane landed, and I got off.

It was a short walk to baggage claim, and I knew my whole family would be there. I hope they'll forgive me, but I dodged into the bathroom and just sat there contemplating and composing myself for a bit before I felt like I could go down that escalator.

As I stood at the top, a lady looked at me knowingly, and said, "You'd better put that hat on and get on down those stairs. They've been waiting for two years for you to come."

So I put the hat on, turned on my camera, and began to video my descent. Here it is:

There's no way to describe what that feels like. I don't know if it's even appropriate to describe something like that on a blog. But suffice it to say, it is an incredible conclusion to an incredible journey.

I think my little brothers changed the most. Marky has a man voice, and he's grown up a lot. Jon is like a foot taller, though the voice is still high. My sisters just look the same, but a little more bloomed, and mature. It was so great to see everyone.

When the tears and greetings were over, it was straight to business. Jesse, my oldest brother, had a wedding that weekend, and there was still much to do to prepare. We attended the endowment for my new sister-in-law Alysha, and the wedding dinner for family, both Friday. Being in the endowment session with my twin brother and other family was a very spiritual experience for me.

I think the hardest time was at the wedding dinner. I had been home a little over a day, and all eyes were on Jesse and Alysha, but I was seated in the corner of the room, feeling quite overlooked. And it's not that I wanted so much attention; I guess I just felt like even though I had finished my mission, I was now just starting over, bottom of the pole, no big deal. I really just wanted to go back, help people, serve, and forget about this new life. But, alas. It is time to move forward, and onward. I have a new mission now.

The wedding itself was on Saturday, with the reception that night. It was so crazy to see everyone I'd missed for so long. It was like a dream.