It’s been over three years since my husband has seen his family in Utah. We have been married almost 14 years and I miss them a lot too. They haven’t met our daughter yet and our sons barely know them. His parents are aging and suffering more health problems, but there always seems to be something standing in our way of going to see them:
A canceled trip due to severe illness
A job change, leaving us with no vacation
Too late into a pregnancy
Cost of gas was too high – $4 a gallon
Right now we have all sorts of reasons why we could choose not to go. Gas is still rather expensive, we’re making less money than we were before, the van will need new tires immediately and possibly some expensive repairs, and with us being gone for so long, my husband won’t make any overtime, so it will be very difficult to pay our bills when we get home. At the same time, we are trying to save what’s left of our tax return so we can move out of our apartment into the bigger home we need.
But I feel pressed to take this trip anyway. We don’t know what might stop future trips or with my father-in-law’s health problems, if we will get to see him again. My husband’s Grandma’s health is rapidly declining and we’re pretty positive this will be his last time visiting her. How could we deprive our children of the chance to meet her? Our oldest saw her once when he was 2. How could we rob them of the opportunity to have their own special bonding time with their grandparents? For the first time, we’re not going to have the entire family there for our whole stay. I can’t wait for our kids to get to know their other grandparents on a more individual level.
We have three nephews and two nieces we haven’t met, one of which passed away (stillborn). We didn’t get to travel there and grieve with the family, but we want to see where he was laid to rest.
My kids’ aunt can hardly wait to swim with them like I get to do with them all the time. There’s so much fun to be had with their cousins too.
We also have the chance to show them the sites at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, to teach them more about our church’s history, show them the Conference Center, and more. I want them to see the things they have heard so much about, but especially the new replica they have of the temple! That sounds so amazing.
I feel like this is going to work out somehow. After repairs and new tires, we should get better gas mileage. Being gone, we won’t use much electricity here, cutting that bill. My in-laws are planning on taking care of groceries at their place, so we won’t have to do a big shopping trip until it’s almost payday again. Part of me is still saying, “You can’t afford this!” but I feel Heavenly Father will make this work for us. He knows how important it is for us to see them.
It’s sad when it takes a leap of faith to go visit family, but that’s what we’re doing.
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