I just found out last night that one of my former best friends Grandmpa passed away. This friend of mine has a Mom on a mission, so that would make this the Mom's father. My friend also has a sister on a mission. So as I was talking to her last night I asked if the sister and Mom would come home from their missions to attend the funeral since it is a very close family member. Neither of them are going to come!! Really?! Her reasioning was that it would be too hard, and since her sister is almost done with her mission she is just going to finish it out. I don't know her Mom's reasoning, but there is no way in hell I would ever miss a close family members funeral, maybe I'm the wierd one...

My brother is also on a mission right now, and my little 8 year old sister got hurt very bad and ended up in the hospital for a month. My parents didn't want him to have to deal with it so they did not send pictures or anything. My great Grandma passed away last summer, and I didn't get to come home for that. My wedding was over a year ago, and my brother wasn't able to be there for that either. I think it's ridiculous.

What have you guys missed on your mission, that you wished you hadn't?

The feel of a woman and two years of college.

Being able to drink water from a hose.

The arrival of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan, as well as JFK assassination and the start of the war in Viet Nam. My best friend's wedding.

Those are big misses. Not too late to see Bob. He's still out doing his thing.

How about the chance to discover who I was, on my own terms, regardless of the definitions TSCC imposed on me?

Nothing major, a funeral, a couple births, a wedding or two... but you know, I was serving god or something.

Dancing with beautiful hispanic women.

Kissing and vacations

Reading normal books. I ended up reading a bunch of FARMS literature as well as "Under the Banner of Heaven", as I could at least nominally tie those back to the church.

Making a decent meal. I enjoy cooking, and my mission ill-afforded me opportunities to cook.

Being outdoors. We took a couple trips to the swamps, but Florida doesn't have a lot of forest or mountains.

Shooting, which was a monthly activity pre-mission and strictly forbidden by mission rules.

My grandmother passed away. Thirty-one years ago. Not to sound dramatic, but I still live with the guilt.

I'm from Washington, and among other things, I missed Mt. St. Helens blowing up while I was in Japan. Would have been fun.

Sounds crazy, but I missed eating Mexican food (I was in France). I also missed hugging, and kissing, and stuff. My sister was sweet because she waited for me to come home so I could be her maid-of-honor and her wedding. But I missed my best friend's temple wedding. And a few others'. They didn't miss my wedding a few years later, though.

So much in the past, though, that I never think about what I missed until someone brings it up here. Good reflection on the past. Thanks!

I missed working 16 hours/day, being well paid for it.

I was STILL a virgin when I went (DARN!), so I didn't miss sex...

I Didn't Miss: being subject to the draft during Viet Nam; that's the ONLY parallel I have with MR!

The funeral and the last chance of a good bye of my love. He was shot dead in Iraq. I didn't get the permission to go to his funeral. I was not even 800miles ahead. But I did the right I put Gawd first...

Thank you for your replies! Some of your responces were heartbreaking :( It's amazing how absurd everything in the church is once you've gotten out of it.