Let’s run away

When I was in high school and I was feeling stressed out, I would play a make believe game with my best friend. We would plan weekend trips to exotic places and pretend that we would be leaving the next day. It was actually pretty effective as a stress reliever and it complimented my desire to travel. I’ve continued this game, in a modified form, now that I’m married. Only now I don’t care where we go! Whenever I feel like things are starting to get hairy- I like to ask Ernie if he just wants to run away with me.

This weekend we actually are going to “run away”! Bradley, my youngest brother, is preparing to enter the MTC and is going through the temple this Saturday. So Ernie and I are meeting my family at the temple in Birmingham, Alabama tomorrow (because the Atlanta temple is closed for 18-24 months due to extensive renovations). Since it’s 4 hours away for us, Ernie and I are leaving this afternoon and spending the night. The kids will stay here in Hattiesburg with a young couple and Ernie and I will get to be by ourselves.

I like traveling with Ernie, even though this is a super short, close-by trip. Ernie has spent most of his adult life traveling all over the world and together we’ve been to Italy, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Canada (does Canada even count?). We’ve been lots of places in the US (Puerto Rico was definitely the best), but at this point I don’t care where we’re going anymore just as long as we’re together.

Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

• Driving in a quiet car
• Uninterrupted conversations
• Not having to stop to use the bathroom every 90 minutes
• Flexibility
• Sleeping in tomorrow morning
• Enjoying a session at the temple with people that I love

I think it’s going to be a great trip!