where do i even begin?
so, i just made it back from michigan-which might possibly have been the craziest trip of my life. i lack any words to describe this trip! probably the best way to describe it is chronologically.
i got in on wednesday, and amers (the best little sister EVER) picked mom and i up at the airport. we picked up my sweet dodge neon rent-a-wreck and dropped mom and the luggage off at my grandfather's. i then got to check out amy's new apartment and her kitty, and then we had lunch and shopped at somerset (yeeeeeeeah!). i had dinner with my mom, my papa, my aunt linda, and my aunt jenny that night, and we also got to meet aunt jenny's fiance, alan, who is a very sweet guy and he clearly makes her very, very happy. we talked a little bit about wedding planning that night, but then i took off for jd's up in pontiac! talk about a great night at the piano bar. amy, steph b, ana, kelly k-it was so great to see y'all there. i also saw the best friend and her boyfriend, which was somewhat anti-climatic. it just kinda happened. there was no showdown, or harsh words...nothing. at this point, i feel so incredibly far removed, it's like seeing an acquaintance-which is a little sad, but i've moved past it. what was the shocker of the evening, you ask? my ex-boyfriend mike showing up! ooooh-eeee. i didn't know what to make of it. i mean, it was good to see him, but for me, it felt just very friend-like...which is perfectly fine. i got home at about 12:30p after pretty much hitting a wall of exhaustion from being up for 24 hours!
thursday started off strong. mom and i hit up lakeside for old time's sake and i then made the mistake of checking my email when we got back to my grandfather's-the ex had emailed me to let me know that he still loved me, missed me, realized what a mistake he made two and a half years ago, etc. it just made me sad for any number of reasons-i can't return his feelings, i can't give him what he wants, etc. all i can give him is my friendship. i headed out to the old neighborhood to drive around for awhile (god, how some things never change), then met up with kelly k and her boyfriend eric that night to p.f. chang's and we both got the BIG glasses of wine that night-LOL. after dinner we headed to bahama breeze for a "bahamarita", which is a very fun drink and i highly recommend it. we had a great time goofing off that night.
friday i had breakfast with joe and virginia, who own carlo's pizza-they gave me my very first job. they're great people, and i absolutely adore them! i had lunch with mom, aunt jenny and aunt linda in birmingham, where we watched the beginnings of the woodward dream cruise and then we went wedding dress shopping. how fun! aunt jenny will definitely be a beautiful bride. friday night was stephanie b's 24th birthday celebration, so i had a great dinner with her, rach, amy and spence before heading on out to coyote joe's...what a riot! i'll definitely have to go back there the next time i'm back in town. i couldn't believe all the people that were there! i mean, steph, i haven't seen patti, jenn, corinne, or lisa in at LEAST six years! it was like a mini RHS reunion for me :) and it was so fun seeing all the gamma phi girls once again! you ladies are always the high point of the trip back for me. AND SEEING STEPHANIE P WAS OBVIOUSLY THE WHOLE POINT OF THE TRIP!!! :P
saturday was a wonderfully lazy, laid-back day in comparison to the other days-i went "shopping" with amy and kelly (oh, you KNOW what i mean, amers! lol), and then had lunch at coney's (small hani deluxe! yeah!) before dropping the car off at the rental place and then taking a nap at aunt jen's. i met up with tracy that evening at cheeseburger in paradise, and poor tracy...the one night i get to see her, i'm a sobbing mess. dad called me on my way over to the bar, and what does he tell me? our cat, shadow, was dying. a mere month after our dog died, our cat was going. of course, he was distraught over being there because he wanted my mom there (shadow was really her cat), and he felt horrible that she wasn't there, etc. so i was bawling my eyes out at the bar, and then tracy walked in, and i started crying again because damn it, trace, i miss you! and i saw her ring, and it was like "shit! she really is getting married! my friend is really getting married!" so the waterworks kept coming, and then she asked if i would do a reading at the wedding because she and dustin would really like that, and oh my damn, there i went again with the tears. it was an emotional evening. after dinner, i headed back to my grandfather's where i tried to be there for my mom, because while i was at dinner, shadow did pass away (luckily, it was very, very peaceful and she didn't appear to be in any pain). we all drank a lot of wine that night.
today was even more stressful though, because six years ago today, my grandmother died and we had all planned on going to the cemetery to say a few words. it just seemed to hit a little harder this year, with aunt jenny getting engaged and shadow dying and all. we spent some time all crying there, and remembering the memories before leaving. i was literally drained after that. we went back, packed up and then headed off to the airport to make sure we were there in plenty of time to get through security. i had somehow managed to not take out ONE lipgloss, and tsa found it and threw it away (damn it, that was my $22 nars lipgloss! fuckers!). mom and i then proceeded to "barhop" through the airport until our flight, which i don't even remember because i fell asleep before we even took off. we got back home aorund 8p; i'm so looking forward to sleeping in my bed tonight. luckily, tomorrow should be a somewhat slow day at work because i'm only working a half day. hoorah.
isn't it funny, though-six years ago today, i was getting ready to start my life in chicago. three years ago, i had just graduated from oakland, and had moved here. today, i have a job, a degree, roots...it's amazing how quickly time changes everything. i hope that my grandmother would be proud of what i've managed to do with my life, and i hope that somehow, she knows that with every sorority ceremony, i remember her and wish that she was there with me.
when we got home tonight, dad took mom and i out back to show us the little memorial garden he had made for shadow and mickey-he had planted a couple of beautiful flowering bushes by the birdbath, with a stone that says "pets leave footprints on our hearts."
in some respects, i can't seem to stop crying-there's too much going on! but, i know between my family and my amazing friends, i'll be okay. just don't be surprised if y'all seem to be getting a lot more calls lately, okay?
thanks to everyone back in michigan for such great times-i had a great time with all of you, and can't wait to do it again :)
i got in on wednesday, and amers (the best little sister EVER) picked mom and i up at the airport. we picked up my sweet dodge neon rent-a-wreck and dropped mom and the luggage off at my grandfather's. i then got to check out amy's new apartment and her kitty, and then we had lunch and shopped at somerset (yeeeeeeeah!). i had dinner with my mom, my papa, my aunt linda, and my aunt jenny that night, and we also got to meet aunt jenny's fiance, alan, who is a very sweet guy and he clearly makes her very, very happy. we talked a little bit about wedding planning that night, but then i took off for jd's up in pontiac! talk about a great night at the piano bar. amy, steph b, ana, kelly k-it was so great to see y'all there. i also saw the best friend and her boyfriend, which was somewhat anti-climatic. it just kinda happened. there was no showdown, or harsh words...nothing. at this point, i feel so incredibly far removed, it's like seeing an acquaintance-which is a little sad, but i've moved past it. what was the shocker of the evening, you ask? my ex-boyfriend mike showing up! ooooh-eeee. i didn't know what to make of it. i mean, it was good to see him, but for me, it felt just very friend-like...which is perfectly fine. i got home at about 12:30p after pretty much hitting a wall of exhaustion from being up for 24 hours!
thursday started off strong. mom and i hit up lakeside for old time's sake and i then made the mistake of checking my email when we got back to my grandfather's-the ex had emailed me to let me know that he still loved me, missed me, realized what a mistake he made two and a half years ago, etc. it just made me sad for any number of reasons-i can't return his feelings, i can't give him what he wants, etc. all i can give him is my friendship. i headed out to the old neighborhood to drive around for awhile (god, how some things never change), then met up with kelly k and her boyfriend eric that night to p.f. chang's and we both got the BIG glasses of wine that night-LOL. after dinner we headed to bahama breeze for a "bahamarita", which is a very fun drink and i highly recommend it. we had a great time goofing off that night.
friday i had breakfast with joe and virginia, who own carlo's pizza-they gave me my very first job. they're great people, and i absolutely adore them! i had lunch with mom, aunt jenny and aunt linda in birmingham, where we watched the beginnings of the woodward dream cruise and then we went wedding dress shopping. how fun! aunt jenny will definitely be a beautiful bride. friday night was stephanie b's 24th birthday celebration, so i had a great dinner with her, rach, amy and spence before heading on out to coyote joe's...what a riot! i'll definitely have to go back there the next time i'm back in town. i couldn't believe all the people that were there! i mean, steph, i haven't seen patti, jenn, corinne, or lisa in at LEAST six years! it was like a mini RHS reunion for me :) and it was so fun seeing all the gamma phi girls once again! you ladies are always the high point of the trip back for me. AND SEEING STEPHANIE P WAS OBVIOUSLY THE WHOLE POINT OF THE TRIP!!! :P
saturday was a wonderfully lazy, laid-back day in comparison to the other days-i went "shopping" with amy and kelly (oh, you KNOW what i mean, amers! lol), and then had lunch at coney's (small hani deluxe! yeah!) before dropping the car off at the rental place and then taking a nap at aunt jen's. i met up with tracy that evening at cheeseburger in paradise, and poor tracy...the one night i get to see her, i'm a sobbing mess. dad called me on my way over to the bar, and what does he tell me? our cat, shadow, was dying. a mere month after our dog died, our cat was going. of course, he was distraught over being there because he wanted my mom there (shadow was really her cat), and he felt horrible that she wasn't there, etc. so i was bawling my eyes out at the bar, and then tracy walked in, and i started crying again because damn it, trace, i miss you! and i saw her ring, and it was like "shit! she really is getting married! my friend is really getting married!" so the waterworks kept coming, and then she asked if i would do a reading at the wedding because she and dustin would really like that, and oh my damn, there i went again with the tears. it was an emotional evening. after dinner, i headed back to my grandfather's where i tried to be there for my mom, because while i was at dinner, shadow did pass away (luckily, it was very, very peaceful and she didn't appear to be in any pain). we all drank a lot of wine that night.
today was even more stressful though, because six years ago today, my grandmother died and we had all planned on going to the cemetery to say a few words. it just seemed to hit a little harder this year, with aunt jenny getting engaged and shadow dying and all. we spent some time all crying there, and remembering the memories before leaving. i was literally drained after that. we went back, packed up and then headed off to the airport to make sure we were there in plenty of time to get through security. i had somehow managed to not take out ONE lipgloss, and tsa found it and threw it away (damn it, that was my $22 nars lipgloss! fuckers!). mom and i then proceeded to "barhop" through the airport until our flight, which i don't even remember because i fell asleep before we even took off. we got back home aorund 8p; i'm so looking forward to sleeping in my bed tonight. luckily, tomorrow should be a somewhat slow day at work because i'm only working a half day. hoorah.
isn't it funny, though-six years ago today, i was getting ready to start my life in chicago. three years ago, i had just graduated from oakland, and had moved here. today, i have a job, a degree, roots...it's amazing how quickly time changes everything. i hope that my grandmother would be proud of what i've managed to do with my life, and i hope that somehow, she knows that with every sorority ceremony, i remember her and wish that she was there with me.
when we got home tonight, dad took mom and i out back to show us the little memorial garden he had made for shadow and mickey-he had planted a couple of beautiful flowering bushes by the birdbath, with a stone that says "pets leave footprints on our hearts."
in some respects, i can't seem to stop crying-there's too much going on! but, i know between my family and my amazing friends, i'll be okay. just don't be surprised if y'all seem to be getting a lot more calls lately, okay?
thanks to everyone back in michigan for such great times-i had a great time with all of you, and can't wait to do it again :)