The Moment That Wasn't

I had been debating whether or not to take my children to see the Angel placed on the new Brigham City Temple.  My oldest daughter told me weeks ago how she wanted to see this happen.  I had thought about how difficult it would be.  I would have to pack a lunch and my little guy would miss his nap that day.  We would have to leave straight from swim lessons and drive to Brigham City.  But I thought, I should do this.  What a wonderful memory for my children. 

Well, that memory would never be.  I woke up that morning to cloud cover, that soon turned into rain.  We went to swim lessons late, because I was trying to pack a lunch, that way we wouldn't spend money at a fast food joint.  The kids swam, then we are on our way.  The rain was coming down and I wondered if this was going to be a miserable trip.  Well, it calmed down by the time we got there.  We found a great parking spot, which I thought meant that we were supposed to be there.  We make our way through the crowed and find a descent spot to watch.

We wait and wait and wait.  We watch the crane go up, then go back down.  We see some men climb in the box and are lifted to the sky.  I thought that must be a good sign, other than the fact that they are blowing a little in the wind.  I certainly wouldn't want to be up in that box being blown by the wind.  But I was glad to be on the ground and the kids seemed to be having a great time finding grasshoppers with all the other kids.  That is, they were happy once that they had finally dried off.  They were pretty cold at first.  But, it was fun to watch them be little kids, fascinated by tiny grasshoppers.

Just at the peek of there grasshopper exploration, the crowed starts to move.  They had just announce that the Angel being placed on the Temple was going to be postponed until the wind calmed down.  I thought, if we just wait a little maybe we will be there for when they place it.  So I let the kids play a little longer, then we went for a little walk closer to the temple to get a good look.  It was beautiful.  I was glad we got to see this wonderful building. 

We then headed home.  I looked back from the freeway and saw now sign of the Angel being placed.  That was at 1:25.  When we were home later, I asked my husband if he knew when they placed it.  He said a friend posted on my comment on Face Book that it had been placed at 1:30.  I thought, no way, we just missed it.  I must admit, I was very mad and frustrated.  I drove all that way and admit was very excited to see this great historical event take place.  And I miss it by 5 minutes.  I missed giving my children a fantastic memory of the Temple.  A memory, that could stick in their minds and help draw them to the Temple when they are older.  I still have hopes that they will be drawn to the Temple despite seeing the Angel placed, but I really thought this might help.

Maybe I take to much stalk in the big moments instead of all the little moments added together.  That is what life is really about.  The small moments.  These are the things that make us who we are.  These large times are great and can definitely help us grow, but they are not the defining moments.  The ones we just can't seem to put our finger on, are the moments that truly count.