Yesterday, we drove home from Nauvoo after a wonderful vacation with Mom and Father-in-law Smith, and Jim said, “I’m setting Co-Pilot to the shortest route home.” Co-Pilot is a GPS navigating program.
A few minutes later we were driving down a windy, gravel road, passing Farmer John’s weather-beaten house. “Shortest route, huh?” I asked. Actually, it knocked about 40 minutes off our time (getting us home before 8:00 at night), and we can claim seeing areas of Missouri that we will likely never see again! After a few too many 2-lane, windy roads with speed limits somewhere around 35 mph, Jim put Co-Pilot back on the “practical” route, meaning the route that semi-trucks can take. Even with the 40-minute savings, Jim’s “shortest” route earned him some good ribbing!
The trip was wonderful! We got to visit church sites with Jim’s parents in both Carthage and Nauvoo. We also visited the Kibbe Museum in Carthage that was a lot of fun! Unlike most museums, they let us touch and work with their displays. It’s a terrible way to keep artifacts in good shape, but a lot more memorable! We stayed at a trailer park/campground in Carthage that had a pool the kids enjoyed, and we had a pretty decent cabin. The biggest downside for me was that it was about 45 minutes away from Nauvoo. Lots of commute time! It would be hard to say what the “best” part of the trip was, but I’m thankful that all of our vacations this year have been spent with grandparents. That makes it all better!
One of the things we saw in Nauvoo that really struck me was the Monument to Women. I don’t know how to describe it, but of course I’ll try! 
Let me rephrase that: I’ll try to explain the thoughts that came to me this time. As I walked through it, I realized that it was built in circles, or cycles. The first circle had the monuments of women developing their talents, studying, learning, praying . . . becoming and shaping who they would become. The next cycle included the next phase, or cycle, of a women’s life. It showed women applying those skills and resources with their children, spouse, and family. The third cycle had one figure: that of an older woman rocking in her chair, seemingly looking out over her life. It struck me that those cycles are very important. We take them out of order and things get messed up, and become harder than they would have been otherwise. And then, at the end of our mortal existence, we have the time to look back over and see the “tapestry” that we have woven throughout our lives. While at Nauvoo, we got to see a demonstration of rug weaving, and that has been much on my mind as well. Just like the individual threads that have to be threaded in just the right order for certain patterns to emerge, so too must we be so careful how we weave our lives so we are satisfied with the end result.
Added on Aug. 30, 2007:
I just read the Church News, week ending August 25, 2007. In it, it had an article titled A helping hand, and it talked a little about the subject of preparation. I liked it, so I’m going to share it! It said, “President Gordon B. Hinckley has counseled, ‘There are seasons in our lives, seasons when we can prepare and work, when the sun shines and the air is warm. And there are other seasons when the storms of life would beat upon us and destroy us if they could. Summer is the time for preparation against the harshness of winter.’ Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 470). As we face challenges, let us remember that we can do so with the help of others and with the companionship of the Holy Ghost if we will but seek guidance through prayer and other means to draw nearer to God.”