We've been in Nauvoo for four whole days now, and I feel like I'm just starting to really see it. This would be the result of having a wedding here, I suppose. Weddings take up a lot of time, it turns out, and so although having a wedding in a tourist place/church history place is neat on the one hand, on the other it feel like there's never enough time to see all of the historical things. We did do a session in the Nauvoo temple, because Samuel's wife Aleatha was endowed there the day before the wedding, and that was very nice. For those who will understand this, Avram and I were the witness couple for the session, which I'd never been before, and was a nice place to do it; the Nauvoo temple moves you from room to room during the session, although it is not live.
Famous Mormon Moment:
I spied Susan Easton Black in the temple, and stared at her, because I wasn't sure, and I didn't know why she would be here, because she's a professor at BYU. Then on Sunday in the program at church we saw that she was here, because she's giving lots of lectures, one of which we're attending tomorrow. I know that she loves Nauvoo, so I suppose she's just here during spring term, or something.
Part of this difficulty of sightseeing can also be contributed to sickness. We've decided to emulate the pioneers by getting sick like they did. That way we'll have the true Nauvoo experience. The stomach flu I caught from a friend (see Sarah's blog) has subsequently passed onto six others here, including Lydia and Avram. We've only two left who haven't caught it, and probably by tomorrow they'll have it too. It's quite the epidemic, and I've decided that we need to go and lie down by Joseph Smith's old house, like the Saints did when they first arrived in Nauvoo and contracted Malaria, while Emma will pass us water. Actually, since I've previously recovered from what everyone else has, I suppose that I should be Emma, and I can carry Lydia around with me as a pass around water.
Also, it has rained at least part of the day every day that we have been here, which also makes going out more difficult, although not impossible. It's actually quite sunny currently, which means the hot humidity has appeared. After Utah it's quite the adjustment, but overall I like humidity, just as also in its own way I really like dry heat.
I don't mean to compile complaints in this post. Actually, although there have been setbacks, being in Nauvoo has been a very good experience thus far. For one thing, Lydia while here has doubled the number of words she can say. Previously her repertoire consisted of Hi and Bye, or Bye Bye, learned in that order. On May fourth she learned Uh-Oh (and says it whenever she drops something. It's darling) and on May fifth she learned No. She says it whenever she doesn't want food offered to her, while firmly shaking her head.
I'll tell about Nauvoo in the next post.
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1 day ago
That's so sad that everyone is or is getting sick, especially while on vacation or travelling! Fortunately Matt was spared, but Heidi left the next day for tour with the wind symphony, so I suppose she could be sick somewhere in the mid-Atlantic states right now.
ReplyDeleteAlthough you're right - it seems appropriate to be sick in Nauvoo while recreating the experience of the early church members. Good luck with being nurse-maid; it does have a romantic undertone about it, even if the reality is decidedly unromantic.