3 Tries

Some people are bad at good byes. They are the ones with uncontrollable tears, and the need to give pre, actual, and post hugs. As of today I am one of them.

Attempt #1: My family began to get their move on around 6 this morning when they took me and my 150 lbs of luggage to the airport to see me off to D.C.. After checking in my bags we had two hours to spare.

[Side Note: The Albuquerque Airport has only two terminals, A and B. It takes only 5ish minuets to walk briskly from one end to the other. If you ever find yourself flying out of Albuquerque, YOU DO NOT NEED TWO HOURS. One is plenty.]

So after eating breakfast we headed to security and inevitable what we thought were our final good byes. After lots of hugs, kisses, and a few jokes I headed for my gate. I didn’t make it 10 steps before tears began pouring down my face. I did the only thing that came natural. I went back to my Mum.

Attempt #2: Obviously I hadn’t said a proper good bye the first time. The solution, more hugs, and a few additional “I love you”s. This of course was followed by a giant group hug (if I would have been thinking strait it would have been a cinnamon roll hug!). “Okay that should do it…I can do this,” I repeated to myself with dry eyes and once again headed to my gate. This time I only made it 5 steps.

Attempt #3: What did I forget? A picture! and one more set of hugs.

It took me 3 tries to say good bye, to realize I am obsessed with hugs and that one picture really is worth more than a thousand words.

Love,

Steph

Funny Breakfast Quote: “You can’t try on bathing suits. It’s against public health policey!” 

Past, Present, Future

Fall is my favorite time of year. The sweater weather, changing trees, and holidays combine to create the perfect environment for good times. This year I would like fall to back off and for summer to hang out for a little longer. Way back in April I noticed that I had hit a rut. I could not believe that in less than a year after graduating college, I seemed to have lost sight of what I wanted to do, not to be confused with what I had to do. The solution?...Take a vacation…P.S. it works! Last minute I pleaded for time off work and flew down to San Diego with my friend Alex. Nothing like the ocean and some sand to clear the mind. This trip lead me to “find my dinosaur”. I proceed to do things that I had always said I was going to do. I competed in Ski to Sea, was in Guys and Dolls the musical, learned to windsurf, painted a mural, went sailing, mountain biking, and on some pretty awesome trips. I would be crazy not to want summer to continue but here fall comes anyway. My summer ended with an epic road trip from Seattle, WA to Rio Rancho, NM with Kyle Maltz (read about the trip on his blog!). We took five days to meander down south, seeing some of the most beautiful landscapes and some that left us wondering “Why?” The trip was amazing but ended in one of the saddest events of my life. My brother Michael died on Sunday morning. He was 24 years old. I have a lot of questions and not a whole lot of answers to why this happened. I am grateful for the time I spent with him and blessed to have him as a friend. Even with the grief that sits heavy on all our hearts I am trying to live my life as Michael did, with “peace, respect of others, love, acceptance, and my God.” In nine days I leave for Turkmenistan with the Peace Corps for 27 months. I have too many emotions that fill my heart to accurately describe. I am sad, burdened and angry over what was done to my brother. I am also nervous, scared, and excited about the Peace Corps. Life changes fast, I’m glad I packed my running shoes. 
-Steph