Spring Break
and
Easter Festivities
Page 8
This past week, I traveled back to my hometown in Utah. Utah for me is a place of loving family, moonlit summer memories, and.... Allergies. The pollen there has always gotten me worse than anywhere else! I am not sure why, but being in UT always makes my eyes swell up the size of baseballs and my nose so stuffy that when I speak, I sound like the guy on "The Master of Disguise" during the turtle scene. Not cute. Besides that, my trip couldn't have been better. I think being away from where I grew up for a little while put a lot of things into perspective for me. I didn't always appreciate all the simple things that Utah has to offer. When I landed, the first thing I noticed when I looked up from my untied shoelaces through the airplane sized window, was the mountains. They are so beautiful. I never really paid much attention to them before when I was living there. Perhaps because I was just so used to seeing them every day, that they became invisible to me. This was one of the things that kept a smile on my face the whole week.
The remainder part of my day was spent at my Nana and Granddad's home. All of the cousins were there and we embarked on a HUGE Easter egg hunt in their front yard. The smell of spring was in the air. With the yard filled with flowers and the sunshine on our backs, the kids and I loved running around finding the plastic pastel eggs that were filled with candy! Yes... I ran around with them and YES I definitely loved every second of it. Once we had finished, we went back inside and counted our eggs! Little Jen had 48 eggs! WOW! She had the most out of any of us and she is only 4! I don't know how she did it, but her sisters and I might have sneaked a few eggs from her because our favorite candy was inside! After we emptied our eggs into our individual bags, we started to line up for brunch. Oh my heck. We had ham sandwiches, deviled eggs, quiche, muffins, fruit punch, and peach cobbler! It was even better than it sounds! YUM! I was in a food coma and I was hardly able to move. I was laying on the couch when one of my darling cousins came up to me and asked me to play some games outside...I couldn't say no to her smile!
We played hide and seek, tag, duck duck goose, and ran wild outside in the spring sunshine. It was a beautiful day outside and by the time the day was over, I was exhausted! I could barely keep my eyes open. My mom, Kyle, and I went home and ate the candy we had left and watched a movie. Easter made me so grateful for my family. It has always been one of my favorite holidays that we spend at my Nana's house because there is no chaos. It is relaxing and I love seeing the little ones running around trying to get their candy and the excited faces they have when they open an egg and find their favorite candy inside.
The next week, my mom and I spent running around trying to see everyone we possibly could before our plane left on Wednesday night. I went to my old high school to say hi to one of my favorite teachers. As I walked down those halls I tried to memorize everything I could - the gym, the classrooms, my friend's desks, and all the memories that went by too quickly. When I finally reached my favorite teacher's classroom, he welcomed me in with open arms! I got to catch up with him and all the friends that I had that class with. After we talked, I realized that there I was leaving my high school school for the last time. No coming back the next day to sit in the same desk I had always sat in. No more seeing my friends at lunch. No more thinking "THANK GOODNESS IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY"! This was it. I am so glad that I was able to come to a real high school and experience real teenage things like dances, football games, spirit assemblies, etc. I got to be a normal kid and still chase my dream. How much luckier can you get?
Later that same day, my friends and family all came by to say "see you soon"...Again. There were no tears, no bitterness, it was just sweet. It felt good. I got to come back to Utah and see the people I loved most. Even though it was for a short while and no amount of time with them will ever be enough, I now get to go back to my new reality of doing what I love everyday. I get the best of both worlds and there is nothing more I could ask for. I am so grateful and have such a happy heart. I am the same person, but with a different zip code....AND I have my learners permit now! FINALLY! I can drive...With my mom in the car (2 years late)! I know I will see these people again soon. It won't ever be a goodbye. My friends and my family all made me feel so special, but I know where I belong and it isn't in Utah. It is in Nashville, and I couldn't be certain of that than I am now. I can genuinely say that I was worried that I would come home and I would feel like a walking ghost. That there wouldn't be a place left for me after I left...But it wasn't like that at all. It was as if nothing had changed. I had the same friends, the same home, the same loving family. It was as if no time had passed. We just picked up where we left off.
To see more details and a video of my trip click on the button below!
There was just too many pictures that I loved that I put together a little slideshow of all the pictures from my trip that aren't included above!
Until next time....