Only 40...

Forty...4-0... Yes, that's how many... No, not my age... passed that up a few years ago! Not how many gray hairs I have... I don't think I have any yet thanks to good genes on my dad's side of family (he didn't have any until into his 70's). And it isn't how many presents we opened yesterday... I'm sure by the size of the pile of wrapping paper it was way MORE than that! And it's not how much cash is left in my wallet 'cuz I probably have way LESS than that!

So this "40" I'm talking about is the best present I received this year (and for the last 5 years)... With that clue some of you may have guessed... Yes, it is how many minutes we had to talk with Josh on the phone from his mission in Georgia... It went by way too quick... Yeah, I felt a little cheated considering we talked for a couple of hours (at least) with Jon and Matt during their Christmases in the field. But Josh is a stickler for exactness... in everything... and in obeying mission rules... he knows that blessings will come from following those rules to a T... and he badly wants those blessings as he gives his whole self in service to the Lord. And so I can't really fault him or say let's bend the rules because 40 minutes isn't long enough for this mom who misses and loves her baby son soooo dang much! His mission president seems to be a little more on the "strict" side shall I say than many other mission presidents. Funny how my last post was about a phone call, too.... the DREADED one (see below)! THIS phone call was the one a mom waits for months for and counts the days for!!

And so I cherished every minute of that 40... and soaked in every word he said... and teared up as he told of the miraculous baptisms of a newly married couple this past week. And with his cast freshly cut off he was able to perform the sacred ordinance... a WHITE Christmas they call it amongst missionaries. And I painfully listened to more details of his accident... and silently thanked my Heavenly Father for protecting and healing him. And Matt and him spoke a little Spanish together... and even though I couldn't understand it, I felt the spirit of these two brothers communicating and sharing this common bond. And then.... before I had to a chance to ask all my questions... it was time to say good-bye... it was like only having the first course of a delicious meal... you're still hungry for more...

I love you and good bye... and click he is gone... Does he know how much I love him? And how proud I am of him? Could he hear that in our voices or feel it in his heart? I guess all those questions I had for him can wait.... at least until next week's email to him... or until the Mother's Day phone call... I've already begun counting!