Day 6-'Going Out on a Whimper' or 'The Toll of Travel'

It's the little things, like walking by Christie's that I'll miss.

We'll also miss the Lamborghini dealership (but we've got
one of those in Abu Dhabi)

Of course, what we'll miss most are Grandma and Grandpa!

Do you know that my mother didn't make fun of my facial hair once on this trip. What more evidence do you need
of a mother's love?

Well it was bound to happen. Kind of inevitable really. We actually had an uneventful day. Our morning was filled with packing. Afternoon was church (and apart from the accents, it was pretty much the same as church anywhere else in the world, and after Abu Dhabi, even the accents are starting to feel pretty familiar). We did a little more packing in the afternoon, visited some more with Mom and Mike and then off to the airport hotel. We had thought about trying to fit another museum in on the way to or from church, but it would have been cramming things in, and when you try to do too much you run the risk of spoiling what you've done before. There's a fine line between just the right amount of ice cream and a tummy ache.

So, I guess this is the point where I reflect on the first leg of our Summer of Franksyness.

First off, it would have been impossible to have the experience we had here without all that Mom and Mike did for us. Their generosity in relocating to a hotel so that we could stay in their home made the whole trip considerably more doable. We got to spend some great time with them. I only hope we weren't too much of a distraction from the work they're doing there. It was a lot of fun to sit back and watch how they interacted with the Young Single Adult Members, and to feel of the love they had as they talk about the many new people they've met since they've been there. We're grateful for what they are doing here and the example it is to us and our kids, and I'm grateful to have a better sense of what they're doing. I'll definitely be reading their weekly updates with a better sense of what is going on in this part of the world.

We would have liked James to have been a little healthier, and, at times, that pesky need for sleep did get in the way of a few things we might have added to our experience, but I honestly don't know how we could have done more or had a better trip. It was great to see this city and see how Lucy, Liam, Miranda and James adapted to such a new environment so quickly and effortlessly. It was just as great to be able to spend time with Mom and Mike learning about their mission and the work that they're doing here. We really felt like we were able to experience the best of all worlds while we were here.

I'm also grateful for the lessons I learned about anticipatory stress. Even though I had been to London once before, I had never been with four children. Before coming out here I experienced a great deal of anxiety and stress. Obviously, I was excited about the prospect of coming to one of my favorite cities in the world, but I worried about all of the logistic and practical issues of navigation and safety. It turns out I wasted a lot of energy worrying about problems that never came to pass.

I'm very big on the idea minimizing regrets. There was a saying that my Dad sent me on my mission that goes something like this: "When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did." I really feel like we were able to do so much that we can leave without any regrets even though there is so much more we would love to see and do. Another time perhaps, and if not, well that's alright too.