The Sunday that I didn't sign all day.

Marriner has 8 sisters and one brother, and his baby sister Rosemary had a baby shower last weekend. For some reason, Marriner's mom just wanted everyone to be there, and she flew all the sisters abroad back home for a girl's weekend. And for some other reason, she invited me to come, instead of Marriner, who was her only child not invited to the party (since Marriner's baby brother is still in college and lives close to home.) Sometimes I'd start to feel mildly guilty about that, but I'd just shove that thought out of my head as fast as it came in. This was a GIRLS weekend, not a Merrill Kids weekend! :)

I fit in so well with Marriner's family, it's just about the same as getting together with my family, except bigger. My 3 1/2 days hanging out was fabulous! What did we do? We talked, ate, talked, slept, talked, talked to some different people, went to the temple together, talked, slept, talked, went to church together, talked, slept, talked, flew home. Perfect!

It was a little weird leaving ASL behind for a whole weekend. It turns out that talking with my hands permeates my life right now. I talk to my kids in ASL. I talk to my friends in ASL. But most of all I worship in ASL. All day Saturday, I caught myself wanting to wave to someone across the room and ask a question (without yelling at them.) It was annoying to have to get up, walk across the room, and talk to them. But most of all, it was weird to go to church in English. It's not that I'm opposed to English, just that my worship has become interconnected with my hands, and it was weird to be in a situation where moving my hands during the service was distracting. On the other hand, people kept talking to me, and I felt really irreverent talking back. I know that's not how it is - that's just how it felt. In my head, reverence is still connected with noise, so signing must be more reverent than talking, right?

But I did use my time to spread ASL joy in the world - I  I taught some signs to a sister whose son is having some hearing issues. And I taught my 9mo old neice lots of signs: mom, dad, favorite aunt....and we'll just see if anyone else learns enough sign language to contradict me :)