This past weekend I got to go HOME! (Thanks, Dad, for financing the wonderful weekend.)
It had been 9 weeks since I'd been home, which was 8 weeks longer than I'd ever been away from home.
It all started Thursday afternoon with a "use-all-your-meals-for-the-week-before-you-leave-because-they-will-expires-before-you-return" party at lunch. (Nate, this one's for you.) Good friends. Good food. Good day.
My dad had arranged for an airport shuttle to pick me up early in the afternoon right outside my dorm so that I didn't have to leave Tiff (yes, the orange bug has a name) at the airport over the long weekend. I flew from Oklahoma City to Atlanta to Augusta. Not my first time flying. First time flying by myself.
All things considered, I guess taking someone else's seat on the short flight from Atlanta to Augusta was definitely not a worst case scenario.
After 6 hours of traveling and a time zone change, I arrived at the Augusta airport around 8:30pm and was met by my parents, brother, and best friend. My little puppy greeted me when I walked in the door... and Coal remembered me! Huge relief. He stayed by my side, my constant companion, all weekend.
Over the weekend, I was able to visit so many people and places that make home, HOME.
Friday afternoon I popped in for a short visit at South Aiken Baptist Christian School, where I taught math and English last year. I so enjoyed my time there catching up with my students and teacher friends. Crusaders, I WILL be back.. for good.
I got to visit with my grandma while she was on puppy duty and tell her all about my classes, work, and "free time," which is really just a figment of the imagination.
Friday afternoon I met my best friend at the park and had a surprise waiting for her. We've been planning her weekend visit out here for months, and I've been dropping hints about the surprise I had planned for her trip, but she didn't find out until then what special thing is in store for the weekend. Any guesses? We're headed to a Hunter Hayes concert in Tulsa. She was surprised. And excited.
My mom and I spent some girl time together, since she's constantly surrouned by the male presence (yes, even our dog and fish are guys). Mother-daughter shopping trips are not unusual, but perhaps they are not quite the norm when you both come away with new running shoes, shorts, and shirts.
Norman doesn't have Moe's, so a trip home wouldn't have been complete without "Welcome to Moe's" with this guy on Saturday before we started a college football watching marathon. Though it was not a football day to remember, it was just the way I'd want to spend a Saturday.
I got to sing with the choir at church on Sunday, which was something I knew I had missed. I just hadn't realized how much. They're such a great group of encouragers who love the Lord. Go join them! (shameless plug, but Mr. Howard would be proud)
I also visited with my second family, the Eberls, on Sunday afternoon. It was so fun sharing stories, experiences, lessons learned, and laughter with them.
And just like that, the whirlwind of a weekend was over. My family got up really early Monday morning to drive me back to the airport for a 5:30am flight, but not before the obligatory photo op.
After reflecting over the past few months - months that have brought challenges and changes I could never begin to imagine - I've come to a couple of conclusions. There's nothing quite like being away from home to make you realize how wonderful it really is. And home is more, much more, than a place. Home is people. Home is where the heart is.
No comments:
Post a Comment