D.S. al Coda

"Howdy, big guy."

My summer officially started ten weeks ago with those very words of welcome from field coordinator Ron Thompson. It seems really freaky that it's about to end. Like tomorrow. Like, no more Utah Valley. No more Payson Bible Church. No more Pioneer Bible Camp. No more bugging the Whitworth girls and saying "Who dah man?" to Caleb. No more Temple Square visits. No more Isuzu Trooper getting 16 mpg. It's really, finally, coming to an end.

You might be asking yourself, "Self (because that's what you call yourself), is Nathan excited about leaving Utah?" After you pose this question to yourself, you may feel compelled to find out the answer from one who knows. And so, through some sort of weird telepathic thing, you get ahold of me and ask, "Nathan, are you excited about leaving Utah?" Seriously, warn me that you're going to ask that next time. Let me think about it for a second...

After pondering this question, I find that there are two parts to my answer: 1) yes, I'm stoked about leaving Utah and getting the opportunity to be in my best friend's wedding (100 points for use of a movie title). I'm also really stoked about seeing my family again. You may ask, "What does the word 'stoked' mean?" Well, it comes from ancient German. It begins with the prefix "sto-" which means "a man," and the verb "-ked" which means "who likes pork sausage." So you can see how I would be stoked to go home.

As an added bonus, and really the only truly exciting reason that I could give, I get to see my fiancee, Vanessa. Umm...I could probably talk for hours about that, so I'm not going to go any farther, except to say, "I love you, my little banana nut muffin." If you're not her, don't ask. It's a private memory. If you are her, then please don't kill me for saying that in public. :-D

Oh yeah, I almost forgot my second part: 2) no, I hate the fact that I have to leave behind a lot of people who I have become very close to. It's like moving away from your friends. Not always a pleasant experience. For those of you who are on the Utah field and are reading this, you have been the biggest encouragement to me. Thanks for your support this summer. Lord willing, I'll be back, even if it's only for a short trip. I can't wait to see you again.

And so, as I watch the door close on the end of an era, I sit back and sigh with contentment. I know that I will never again have a summer such as I have had this summer. It has been good. I "climbed down" all over it.

My, wasn't that poetic up until that last sentence? Anyway, I'm going to conclude this post in hopes that the next one won't be far behind. I thought of something today that many of you have found in an email from me. As Christians, we are totally to disobey our parents in this sense - do what your momma told you never to do, stare at the Son. Kind of cheesy, but still a good reminder.

So until my next, more serious post, I bid you "feosgar math."

ngolden
(Goldilocks: it's Skcolidlog spelled backwards)