Parent Paradise

We got an email from Braeden Friday evening.  Happy day!  Except.

He was sending a quick email because his shoes did not work.  These are the very expensive shoes we bought him (two pair!).  These are the shoes we told him to wear before going to the MTC so he could be sure they worked and were broken in.  These are the shoes he didn't wear.  At all. 

I love that kid.

(I keep reminding myself.)

He was sending a desperate plea for us to send his old shoes which are quite worn.  He said he was wearing his tennis shoes in the meantime.

So he's that missionary.  The one with the tennis shoes and suit.

Adam and I looked at each other in dismay after reading the email.  We reminded each other that we love that kid.

Then we got online.  (I wonder if people that have always lived in Utah County know how it is in the rest of the world.  This place is so different.  Bizarre in delightful ways.) We found a multitude of same day MTC delivery services around here. 

We went to The Missionary Mall.  We explained our dilemma to the fresh faced young man who worked there who just returned from a mission himself.  He shook his head in a knowing, forbearing way.  He got us bigger shoes.  He said we could return the very expensive two pairs of shoes as long as they were still new enough looking that they could resell them.  (If Braeden scuffed up those shoes, I'm going to need to remind myself how much I love him.)

Adam polished up the worn old shoes and Saturday morning we went to Post Mart to deliver the old shoes and the new, bigger shoes.  There was a whole pile of things parents were sending to their missionaries at the MTC.  You could send as much stuff as you wanted for $3 a day.  We handed over the box and the guy smiled and said, "We'll deliver this in a few minutes."

Also, the very expensive too small shoes?  Braeden can put them in the same box and send them back to us through Post Mart.

For free, because he's a missionary.

Bizarre, ridiculously wonderful Utah County.

As we walked back to the car, Adam said, "Living here is a missionary parent paradise."