She Ain't What She Used to Be

I'm back after what feels like a month-long trip. It's not that my trip was boring or anything, I think I'm just not used to being gone for more than a week. My trip was good. My dad picked me up from the airport Friday afternoon, and we immediately stopped by the mall. You know any trip that starts that way is going to be a good trip. (Side note: Tara told me she knows this is why God made us sisters.) Saturday Shelley and I went through my stuff in the barn. To begin with, there wasn't as much stuff as I had imagined. It was interesting though to see the stuff I had saved. Shelley would hold something up and ask if I wanted to keep it. There were really two rounds of stuff. The first round was stuff we put into storage boxes when my dad and Pam got married. I was still in college, and a lot of it was my mom's stuff. At one point Shelley said "do you want to keep these Easter decorations?" I just sighed and said "you know, I think I saw my life going very differently." The second round of stuff was stuff from Abilene. I kept most of that, but I did get rid of a lot of books. To quote Death Cab for Cutie, "what's the point in holding on to what never gets used?"

It was so funny though to see all the stuff I had kept. I think I really kept every card anyone ever gave me. I'm sorry to say, that I no longer have every card anyone ever gave me, but I did read them and laughed at all the memories. There were cards from the youth group comforting me when I was 16 and at a time when we thought we were going to lose my mom very suddenly. There were letters from the people I was going to do Trek with. Hilarious birthday cards. Cleaning out my life was definitely an interesting start to a trip home. Saturday I was definitely feeling nostalgic, and then later on very sick from all the dust. I ended up having to leave Stephanie's bachelorette party early because of a sinus headache that continued until Monday morning.

I babysat Monday-Wednesday for Brent, Livvy and Zane. I was mostly their chauffeur taking them from basketball/soccer camp to swimming lessons and then back home. I can't believe how old the kids are getting. It was really fun to watch them at swimming lessons (for the few minutes I was allowed to watch). They've definitely come a long way in the last couple of years. Wednesday night Brooke and I were able to catch up at her place. I spent Thursday at the hospital with Skyler, Tara and Chris' oldest son. He had spinal meningitis, and it was quite the fight for him. He's completely well now and at home, but he was in the hospital for two weeks with really high fevers and bad headaches. Thursday night Melissa and I went to downtown Fort Worth to watch her friend's band play. I'd never been to 8.0s before so I guess I can check that off the list now. Friday Lauren cut my hair (it needed some shaping), and we got to catch up. Both her kids are adorable, and it was really good to see her. That night was the rehearsal dinner for Stephanie and John. It was also in downtown Fort Worth (I really think I might have spent more time there than in Mansfield) at Joe T. Garcia's. I forgot how good Joe T. Garcia's is. Definitely worth the heat. Saturday was the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and really touching. The reception was full of dancing and fun. Since I had no date, I danced with Stephanie's one-year-old nephew. I really am turning out to be quite the cougar. Haha.

Sunday I got to go to church in Mansfield. Livvy had asked me to come with them the previous Sunday, but I had already made plans to go with my dad and Pam. It turned out the next Sunday was the better time to go anyway. Mansfield had just announced that Grady King was coming back to preach, and so he came and preached that Sunday. Brooke, Melissa, Sara, Brandon, and a lot of other people were there. It was really good to have everyone in one place again.

It was nice being in Texas, but it felt really nice to come back to the city. It just feels like home right now. I'm not sure New York will always feel like home, but I'm going to enjoy it while it does. Ross and Daniel were already at my apartment by the time my plane landed. We spent Monday going to IKEA, South Street Seaport and then down to SoHo to see The Heavy play at the Bowery Ballroom. We grabbed dinner at Lombardi's, and for some reason I got really sick after that. I ended up missing almost the entire show, but Daniel and Ross said it was amazing. So if you get the chance to see The Heavy (How You Like Me Now - from the Kia commercial with the sock monkey that goes to Vegas), go!

Now it's back to the daily grind of work. It's summer time though so it's a good time to work in an academic department at a university (read: things are very slow, and I pretty much get to just hang out). Of course there's actual work to do, but those moments are few and far between.