Taking Nathan to the MTC

We had a very nice trip down to the MTC. We (Michael, Nathan and I) flew down to Salt lake early Tuesday morning. We spent the first part of the day looking for the few things that he still needed to get-missionary coat, shoes... . Our first stop in a store in Salt Lake we met the queen of all sales people. She had Nathan try on some pants and then whisked them off for alterations before we even agreed to buy them! If she had her way, he would have spent about $600.00 in that store. Unfortunately for her she was dealing with a couple of servers who understand upsell and we were not accommodating! We did buy the pant but ended up down in Orem to get everything else he needed-and they were not pushy. Nathan wanted Chinese for his last dinner together so we went to a very good restaurant and went back to the hotel to watch the election results and go to bed. Wednesday we all got up a little early to get packed up ,get some breakfast and get to the 9:00 session at the Salt Lake temple. I am so glad that we did. It was a wonderful experience and Nathan really enjoyed it, as did Michael. The architecture and artwork is all so magnificent and beautiful. Nathan had to be at the MTC at 1:00 so after the temple we headed down to Provo. We got there with about 25 minutes to spare, so of course I am taking pictures. We headed to the chapel for the service and while we are waiting for it to begin, they are playing Mormon ads all about families. It must have been designed to prime the tears because it did! I was fine until they played 1 with a father and little blond son who are walking hand in hand. Nathan was a little blondie when he was young and it reminded me of him. Michael thought it was funny that it made me cry. I was better and then we sang "Called to Serve" as the opening song. I got through the 1st verse but lost it in the second. Then the wife of the 1st counselor spoke and said something that made me cry again. Michael did get up to get me a bunch of tissues, which are ALL OVER the room. All this time Nathan is cool and calm, although he looked a little nervous. We got to the end and I was ok. Then it was time to hug and say goodbye. We hugged, and of course I started crying again. Nathan and Michael hugged and were ok and then Nathan turned around and hugged him again and they both started to cry. They will probably both fiercely deny this, but I was there and I saw everything! Of course, once again, that made me cry. The missionaries then leave their families and go out the doors on the right side of the room and the families go out the left. Michael and I got out to the car, hugged and congratulated on one down 4 to go! I am so glad that we went with him and shared in this wonderful trip to Salt Lake with the temple and the MTC. We are happy for him and know that he will do a great job. We are so proud of him and what he has accomplished and what he will accomplish. He is a good young man. We love him and look forward to hearing all about this new adventure he is on.