Blissful Ignorance

I'm no stranger to choosing happiness. I still vividly remember the first time I consciously decided to put fun and instant gratification on the back burner in exchange for some lasting happiness. But that is another story for another day. One I actually hope to share. In fact, it's one I've started to write.
But I'm thinking of something/someone different today. A little episode in my life- if you will- that's reminding me of my current predicament. And that someone goes by the name of- get ready for it--- Sherman Eugene Jackson. A mouthful, right?!! For that reason, along with the flow of the three names combined, I couldn't help but calling him Sherman Eugene Jackson. Yes, the whole shebang. Taneal, are you laughing yet?!
So I used to have the worst habit of waiting for the next big thing. I would have a mental mark on my mental calendar of the next "event" {big or small mind you} and literally would wish the days away until I had reached the big, exciting, ONE day. But here's the thing- that's ONE day. Sometimes the event is only a few hours. Sometimes it's a full week if we're talking about a vacation or something of the sorts. And even if the "event" does play up to all the hype I've created in my mind, which usually it doesn't, it ends pretty quickly. Which always just left me counting days to the next big, often anticlimatic event. As I'm sure we all know, that leaves a lot of wasted days in between. It is the opposite of joy in the journey. So I decided I wanted to change. I wanted to enjoy average days instead of negating them. I got a chance to put that little desire to the test.
I got my mission call in May of 2001. I found out that I'd be Uruguay bound on August 15. Ok, actually just Provo, UT bound where I would then be Uruguay bound. Point being that these little dates left me with three months. Three months where I could do nothing but live, breath, and dream of my big adventure. Or.... 3 months where I could live it up and still have a life.
Thankfully, I decided to live it up. And in that time, my friends, probably like the very end of July, is where I met him- Sherman Eugene Jackson. And the only thing we need to know about Sherman Eugene Jackson is this: He was hot. Like H.O.T. {Taneal, can I get an Amen?!!} Like who cares that I'm leaving in two weeks, I'm here to play! Was I also a girl that "fell in love" way too easy? Absolutely. But this time I allowed myself to in the name of my experiment. Absolutely! Or at least that's the excuse I gave myself.
And you know what? It was an incredible two-ish weeks! We had tons of fun, I got in enough kisses to hold me over for the next year and a half, and I had something to look forward to a few times a week instead of just waiting for Dooms Day, August 15. And jk, August 15th wasn't Dooms Day, I actually enjoyed {some!} of my mission.
But enjoying those three months of my life was a HUGE achievement for me. I was living in the moment in spite of a looming awesome event hanging over my shoulders. {Shoulders??? Is that the word I'm looking for? Anneli, Kady? Anybody?}
Big feat. And what does this have to do with my current predicament? Do you know that I found out I was {most likely} moving to Austin at the beginning of last November? By the time we move, that will have almost been 10 months ago. That's many a months of anticipation. I'm the type that would much more prefer to find out this type of news with two weeks to spare. Not 10 months. But y'all I've been enjoying and living in sweet denial since I found out and it has been nothing short of AMAZING! The first and only glimpse of reality I've had thus far was last Sunday at church when they told me I was getting released from the Young Women's. I kinda felt like I'd gotten punched in the gut. They released me because we're moving. It seems like the leadership took in that information sooner than I have. But other than that, I've been cruising right on along as if I'm not on the brink of a huge lifestyle change. In fact, I've been using it as an excuse to a lot of things that I normally wouldn't do. I've crammed a lot into my life this year all in the name of living it up before I move! And let me take this moment to tell you all that  I love ignorant bliss. Here's to hoping that I have a few more weeks of denial saved up in me!
And to end on an even postiver note, can we talk about how awesome Deeter Lucas Hansen is? {One day some pretty little lady is going to be insisting on his every name, Deeter Lucas Hansen, just like I did with Sherms!} He is awesome. And he is finally sometimes being tricked into wearing more than his 3 outfits that he cycles through. He looks like such a stud now that he's shifting from his 2T clothes {I kid you not} to his size 5 and 6. STUD.