My oldest daughter is spending the summer in Nauvoo, Illinois, donating her skills as a stage manager for their pioneer-themed shows. The shows are performed all summer long, free of charge, for visitors to the area. Highly recommended. I’ll post more photos after I visit later this summer. But this last weekend, I had the chance to fly out and go through the LDS temple with her. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and I’m so grateful for it. And for my totally amazing sister-in-law, who not only hosted me, but drove the 5 hours to Nauvoo and back to Chicago. She’s the best!

This temple is beautiful inside, and has special meaning to us. A whole lot of years ago, we went to the Nauvoo Temple open house, just after it was rebuilt. Upon entering, we were greeted and told we needed to put booties on over our shoes to protect the floors. My daughter, who was 3 and headstrong, didn’t want to put them on, which didn’t surprise me one bit. The nice lady said she could just take her shoes off and proceed with the tour barefoot. I felt the sweet relief that comes from avoiding a meltdown. Things went well until we encountered a different lady who said that barefoot was no good, she had to wear the booties. So my girl, who has never dealt very well with inconsistencies, proceeded to have a meltdown. A big, loud, embarrassing meltdown. Some yelling. Some running. Some pleading. In the temple. Not surprisingly, I was encouraged to take her outside. So I scooped her upl and we headed to the refreshment room which was filled with light and cookies which helped us both calm down. I love that she chose to go through this same temple to be endowed. I love even more that we weren’t asked to leave, not even once. 😂 Lesson learned: find some space filled with light and cookies when you need it, and if something good doesn’t work out the first time, try again later.