I awoke before my alarm on Tuesday, having slept pretty well. There was even time to take a quick shower and put the towels into the washer, so that there would be nothing dirty left for the Motts, just some towels hanging to dry. I took out one last load of trash, then finished packing. My big suitcases were quite full, but both were barely under 50 lbs after I got everything into them, including stuff that Dee had left and hoped to get home. At 7am I walked out, with Anziano Balzotti meeting me on our floor to help with the suitcases: two 29" and one carry-on, plus my computer bag.
There was very little traffic, and I got checked in plenty early. At one point I felt a little weak walking to my gate, but for the rest of the very long day I actually felt surprisingly good. There were no delays anywhere. Sorella Wyatt was on my flight, and several LDS folks came up to chat upon seeing my name tag. In Atlanta, going back through security after customs. I ran into Elder Renlund, one of our apostles, who was also coming home from Rome. He saw my name tag and came up and thanked me profusely for our service.
I rested but didn't sleep much at all for the entire 25+ hours from the time I woke up until I got home at about 10:30pm local time. Rich had to work late, so I just grabbed a taxi at the airport, which is a very quick way to get home. The house looked clean and organized. I didn't unpack, just had a small bite to eat and zonked out in our own bed. Heavenly! It will take a few days to get over jet lag, but I am glad to be home.
This basically closes our mission blog. It has been great for me to write it, and I hope that our readers have enjoyed it. Our homecoming talks will be in Sacrament Meeting at 10:30am on March 24 in La Costa Ward. Hope to see some of you there.
Arrivederci!