CARLSBAD CAVERNS

I AM STILL ON VACATION, AND YESTERDAY, WE ALL WENT TO CARLSBAD CAVERNS. IT IS LOCATED IN NEW MEXICO, AND IS A MAGICAL PLACE TO VISIT. THE CAVERNS ARE ABOUT 130 MILES FROM EL PASO, AND SINCE WE HAD SO MANY GOING, WE HAD TO TAKE TWO VEHICLES. I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO RIDE WITH AARON, AND SARAH AND SISSY RODE TOGETHER WITH ALI, ELI, AND JACOB. AARON AND I HAD BEN AND AUDREY. IT WAS SUCH A NICE RIDE, JUST AARON AND I TALKING TOGETHER WHILE AUDREY SLEPT AND BEN PLAYED WITH HIS VIDEO GAME. I ENJOYED VISITING WITH MY SON. HE IS NOT MY BABY ANYMORE, BUT A GROWN MAN WITH SO MANY RESPONSIBILITIES. HE IS A DOCTOR, A DAD, A HUSBAND, A SON, A BROTHER, A NEPHEW AND A STRONG MEMBER OF THE MORMON CHURCH. ALL HE DOES IS WORK, AS HE IS A RESIDENT IN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY. WHEN HE DOES HAVE TIME OFF, HE IS SWARMED BY HIS LOVING FAMILY, COOKS BREAKFAST AND STUDIES. I WORRY THAT HE IS TOO BURDENED BY LIFE, BUT HE THRIVES AND IS GRATEFUL FOR THE GIFTS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT HEAVENLY FATHER HAS GIVEN HIM. ABOUT TWO WEEKS BEFORE WE CAME OUT HERE, I STUMPED MY BIG TOE ON THE METAL LEG OF A KITCHEN CHAIR. IT HURT SO MUCH, AND WAS BLEEDING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TOE NAIL. I HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE, AND WAS NOT CONCERNED, BUT IT DID NOT HEAL UP AND WAS CONSTANTLY WEEPING AND BEING REALLY YUCKY. I FINALLY SHOWED IT TO AARON, BUT FELT BAD ABOUT GIVING HIM MORE WORK. THE DEAR SWEET THING JUST GOT OUT HIS MEDICAL BAG AND FIXED IT. IT SEEMS THAT THE NAIL BROKE OFF UNDER THE SKIN AND WAS LIKE A BIG SPLINTER. IT WAS IMMEDIATELY BETTER, AND I WAS MORE ABLE TO ENJOY THE TRIP TO CARLSBAD.
I AM SUCH A WORRY WART, ALL I COULD THINK OF WAS THAT I WAS GOING TO SPOIL THE TRIP BECAUSE I WOULD POOP OUT BEFORE THE TOUR WAS OVER, OR, I WOULD HAVE TROUBLE BREATHING UNDERGROUND, OR, WELL, SOMETHING! MY TOE WAS GREAT, BUT MY FEET HURT BECAUSE I HAVE GONE TO THE ZOO, SEAWORLD, SHOPPING AND OTHER THINGS AND LAZY GIRL THAT I AM, I AM NOT USED TO SO MUCH WALKING. I PRAYED AND PRAYED FOR HELP, AND LET ME TELL YOU, I WALKED THE WHOLE 2 1/2 MILE TOUR! YES, I HAD TROUBLE BREATHING, AND WALKING, AND WAS WORRIED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, (THEY DON'T HAVE ONE 70 STORIES UNDERGROUND) BUT I MADE IT! THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE GONE, BUT EACH TIME IT IS AN UNDERGROUND WONDERLAND. THERE WERE STEEP CLIMBS UPWARD AND SLIPPERY SLOPES DOWNWARD. ELI WAS SO ATTENTIVE TO ME, HE WOULD NOT LEAVE ME TO CLIMB OR SCRABBLE BY MYSELF. HE WALKED AHEAD, AND EXPLAINED HOW TO WALK ON THE SLIPPERY AREAS, AND POINTED OUT THE WET SPOTS. THE HUMIDITY WAS INCREDIBLE, AND MY GLASSES KEPT FOGGING UP. MY SHIRT WAS DRENCHED WITH SWEAT, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ONLY 68 DEGREES. BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS, FOR A WHILE, UNDERGROUND, I WAS WITNESS TO THE MAJESTY OF HEAVENLY FATHER'S CREATION OF THIS WORLD. ONE OF THE STALAGMITES WAS GROWING UP IN A FORMATION THAT LOOKED LIKE A LARGE MOUND WITH A NIPPLE ON TOP. WELL, TO BE FRANK, IT LOOKED JUST LIKE A PERFECTLY FORMED BREAST! ELI SAID, "LOOK NANA, GUESS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE!" WITH NERVES, I ASKED HIM WHAT? HE SAID, "IT LOOKS LIKE A YUMMY CUPCAKE! LOOK, THERE IS EVEN A CHERRY ON TOP!" RELIEVED, I STARTED TO LAUGH, AND TOLD HIM THAT IS JUST EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. HIS MAMA SAID HE WOULD PROBABLY CHANGE HIS OPINION IN ABOUT 8 YEARS. OH, THERE WAS SO MUCH TO SEE, AND PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WERE THERE. WHEN I VISIT A TOURIST SPOT LIKE THAT, I LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIND OUT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE COME FROM. MOST WERE FROM THE UNITED STATES, HOWEVER FROM QUITE SOME DISTANCES SUCH AS GEORGIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, MAINE, NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA. OTHER FAMILIES WERE FROM CHINA, VIETNAM, BRITAIN, JAPAN AND NORWAY. IT IS GOOD TO MEET AND GREET THESE PEOPLE, THEY ARE ALL SO FRIENDLY AND GLAD TO HAVE SOMEONE SAY HELLO. WELL, AFTER WE WALKED THE CAVERNS, WE WENT UP AND HAD LUNCH BEFORE THE LONG TRIP HOME. AARON AND I TALKED OF THINGS IN YEARS PAST, CLEARED UP SOME MISCONCEPTIONS OF EVENTS THAT HAD OCCURRED IN HIS ADOLESCENCE, AND IN GENERAL JUST HAD TIME TOGETHER TO LOVE AND APPRECIATE EACH OTHER. I AM COMING HOME ON SUNDAY, AND I MISS MY HONEY SO VERY MUCH. IT WAS ONLY A YEAR AGO THAT WE VISITED AARON AND HIS FAMILY, NEVER IMAGINING HOW OUR WORLD WOULD BE SO AFFECTED IN ONLY A SHORT TIME. A FEW WEEKS AFTER THAT VISIT, THE HURRICANE HIT, OUR HOME WAS DESTROYED AND WE WERE SEPARATED FOR 10 DAYS, I SPENT THAT TIME AGAIN HERE IN EL PASO WITH JAYBIRD, AND MARTIN AND BOBBIE JO CLEANED THE HORRIFIC MESS THAT WAS OUR HOME. FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS, WE WOULD BE WITHOUT POWER AND LIVE ON GENERATED POWER. WE ATE MEALS FROM A SALVATION ARMY TRUCK, (GOD BLESS THEM) AND SWEATED AND WORKED. WE LIVED WITH BOBBIE JO AND HER MARTIN FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS AND THEN MOVED INTO OUR LITTLE GARAGE APARTMENT. SO MANY PEOPLE HELPED US, SO MANY. IN DECEMBER, JESSICA'S LITTLE SON, MATTHEW MARTIN OCHOA WAS DELIVERED STILLBORN, AND THE FAMILY BONDED TOGETHER FOR THIS NEW TRAGEDY. BOBBIE JO PLOWED AHEAD, TAKING IT UPON HERSELF TO ORGANIZE THE FUNERAL. EVERYONE KEPT REMARKING THAT SHE DIDN'T LOOK WELL- BUT WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS THE STRAIN OF THE HURRICANE AND THE DEATH OF THE BABY. EVENTUALLY, IT WAS KNOWN THAT SHE WAS TERMINALLY ILL, AND WE LOST HER TOO. NOW, IT HAS ONLY BEEN A YEAR, AND WE ARE IN OUR LOVELY NEW HOME. I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER IF WE WILL FACE YET MORE DIFFICULTIES, OR IF PERHAPS WE CAN HAVE A SEASON OF PEACE. THERE WILL NEVER BE PEACE I GUESS, WE MOURN OUR LOVED ONES SO MUCH, BUT WITH ALL THE LOVE THAT IS FLOODED IN OUR DIRECTION, WE ARE CERTAINLY ABLE TO COPE. SO, I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO LIFE, NO MATTER WHAT. IT WILL BE GOOD, AND IF TRAGEDY COMES OUR WAY AGAIN, I WILL HAVE MY LOVED ONES TO LEAN ON. THANK GOD FOR THAT. I MAY NOT WRITE AGAIN UNTIL I GET HOME, SO UNTIL THEN, LOVE, NANASEE