Three Weeks Out...

 February 4, 2023, 5:30 a.m.

Very often I sleep in two shifts, from 11 until about 3, then up for a couple of hours, back to bed until 8. I just finished making a red velvet cake for dessert tonight. We're feeding the missionaries smoked baby back ribs. I warned them to bring t-shirts.

Besides the ribs, I need to make chocolate chip cookies for family dinner tomorrow, besides housecleaning. Just finished a big week at work. Tax season is in full swing, and I get to catch up with clients/friends whom I see but once a year. It's a big honor being in a position of trust like that, bigger still when they tell you they don't trust anybody else to do their taxes.

We're slowly accumulating all the physical stuff we'll need: thermal underwear, luggage tags, power converters (220 volts over in Europe versus our 110). Just received a bunch of compression socks from Amazon. I thought I ordered six pair, but I guess I didn't look very close at the item description: Three pair to a package, so now I have 18 pairs of compression socks, enough to last a lifetime.

Having served in Germany before, I remember how all the Elders sought after Seidensticker dress shirts. They cost a few bucks, but they have nice, sharp collars, wear like iron, and breathe in hot weather. I ordered a bunch and had them delivered to the mission office in Munich, where I presume they are waiting for me.

Also, I'm not taking any suits with me, just office slacks and a sport coat. European suits are incredible, fully lined with top-quality material. I bought one in Switzerland, brown pinstripes with a double-breasted vest, just before coming home in 1978, and wore it on my wedding day. So I'll have a couple of suits made over there, one for winter and one for summer.

We just received a bunch of moving boxes; we're clearing out our bedroom before we go. Our son John and his fiancée Jen Caoile are getting married on Valentine's Day at City Hall in San Francisco. They'll live in our house while we're gone. They are expecting a little boy, whom they have named Harold, on May 31st. Harold was Leesa's father's name, and John is a dead ringer for Hal as a young man. He's very like him in temperament, too, with a strong sense of service to others.

Leesa and I both feel the swift passage of time before we get on the plane to Salt Lake on February 26th. I think we have things pretty well planned out. Next up is packing stuff from the bedroom and office and renting a storage unit, along with throwing away a lot of accumulated junk. Getting rid of useless stuff is always a great cleansing for the spirit.

The social calendar is filling up as well. Tonight was another event, as I had bought too many baby back ribs for two missionaries to tackle, so we had two more couples join us, the Hendersons and the Andersons. We had a wonderful time with a lot of laughter. In and around tax season, we have a number of dinners and visits in the last three weeks, right up to the time we head for Provo and the MTC (Missionary Training Center).

Carl and Kirsten Henderson are organizing an open house for us at the home of Earle and Valerie Anderson on the 24th, then Earle and Valerie are having us all over for homemade pizza the next night, followed by a White Elephant gift exchange function at the church, sponsored by the Elders' Quorum. That one's always a lot of fun.

The next day, Sunday, Feb. 26th, Leesa and I are getting set apart for our mission, then right afterward we are speaking in church, and at 5 p.m. that afternoon, we're flying to Salt Lake City, renting a car, and driving to Provo. We'll stay that night at Leesa's cousin's home, then report to the MTC the following morning.