July 29th

To be honest, I was not looking forward to my mission homecoming. This was a day I'd dreamed about since the day I'd left. But now that it was here I could feel that once I sat down from the pulpit, my misson would be a sealed, done deal. And while I had felt a confirmation that my mission was complete, endings have always scared me.

I felt the impossibility of expressing all my feelings. I was worried about making myself sound better than I really had been while on my mission. I wanted to be real. But how could I tell them how beautifully hard it was? I just wanted to tell everyone how much I was feeling, how much I ADORE Richmond, but I couldn't figure out how. I guess I felt like my 10 minute talk had to be a perfectly placed capstone to those 18 months or else it would be an injustice to something that deserved all eloquence.

There were also a few people I was anxious to face. Would things be the same as they were when I left? Plus, my own face was considerably rounder, and I didn't want everyone else to face that.

But July 29, 2018 is going to go down as one of my all time favorite days.

And the reason is quite simple.

Hugs. I love July 29 because of how I was hugged. Hugged over and over by people who really wanted to hug me. Real hugs.

Each hug silently whispered that I didn't need to be perfect. My talk in church didn't need to impress. These people just loved me. There were genuinely happy I was home. All the stuff I was worried about was suddenly nonexistent--one at a time y'all hugged it out of me.

I didn't even know that was possible! We should all hug each other a lot more; maybe there are worries that only leave us when they're squeezed out.