Nothing to Do on a Friday Afternoon

It's Friday. I had nothing to do this afternoon. No plans whatsoever. Normally, that would be a wonderful thing. Today it was a sad thing.

You see, every Friday since October (yes, six months ago), I've met my beautiful niece in Rexburg and we've had a treat. Cory would just be getting out of class and I would have just dropped Kilee off at ballet. We met at nearly every eatery in Rexburg and sampled the sweets everywhere we could. How I've managed to lose 15 pounds in the last six months is beyond me.

Well, last Saturday, my sweet, go-out-to-eat-with-me niece graduated from BYU-I with a bachelor's degree. And then she drove away from Rexburg, got a job, and is moving to some po-dunk town in Colorado. (Actually, I don't know if it's po-dunk or not; I just made that up.)

One week ago, Cory had a graduation party. She is totally going to grow up to be Martha Stewart.

Her family came up from Colorado, as did her older sister who is almost done at ISU (the mom and older sister are in the picture below). We had a wonderful evening visiting and eating and visiting and eating.



Then Cory left. And I don't think she looked back. I was so happy for Cory. This next time of her life is going to be so exciting! I kept teasing her about staying, but Rexburg is a little too cold for her (boy, do I know how she feels).

Then Sunday came. We came home from church and started setting the table. McKay innocently asked, "Is Cory coming?" and I started to cry. (It should be noted here that my sweet husband didn't say a word about my tears, but simply wrapped his arms around me.) Cory came for Sunday dinner every Sunday since we moved into this house. She played with the kids and we visited and it was always wonderful. It was a quiet dinner last Sunday.

And now Friday is here and I'm sad all over again. I didn't realize how much I would miss her. I loved our conversations about BYU-I, roommates, her dad and my husband (who are brothers), the options for her future, and the gospel. Cory was always so appreciative of everything we did for her. I remember telling her once, "We're family, Cory. This is what family is about. This is what family is."

I so enjoyed getting to know my niece and having her be a part of our lives. She has such a sweet testimony and is a wonderful woman. We will all miss you, Cory.