You don't know what you have until it's gone.

Over the past few days, that statement hasn't rung more true for me.

I began thinking that way as I watched my hairdresser chop and dye my long brown locks resulting in my now short caramel hair (man oh man I trust that woman with my life). The second I had to tame and style it on my own, I ached for my long and easy ponytail hair. Surprisingly enough I didn't anticipate how much I'd miss my long hair-- so I chopped it and it's not coming back for a good year or two.

The second thing I feel missing is my pop- my dad who is now formally known as Bishop Welch. On Sunday my home ward decided to snatch him up from me, leaving no second for me to savor our last few days together without some sort of church activity to keep him away. I feel bad how much I took for granted all the little times he offered to take me on a bike ride and I turned him down, or all the few moments he didn't have things to do, that he would suggest we play a game and I ran off with my friends. Yep, give it five more years and things might just be normal again.

But...

...while the phrase, "you don't know what you have until it's gone" might have applied to my initial feelings during the beginning of the week, why did it feel so good to watch the primary children beam at the "new bishop" on Sunday as he shook their little hands and smiled as he listened to them stumble over the Articles of Faith? And why is it so dang faster to do my hair in the mornings??

It's because I realized something: I did know what I had, I knew exactly what I had, and I didn't, in fact, lose it. The little things that I took for granted were always there, I always knew they were, but life went by because that's just how life works. So I chopped my hair. It was fun! And I'll probably do it again someday! So my Dad is the bishop. Sure he's gone a lot more now, but now I actually notice how much I love having him around. It took him being around a little less for me to notice how much I truly love the moments we have to spend together. And it's really strengthened my testimony about the love of families.

I've certainly learned my lesson.