Today is the day. It's been a hectic day so far, I just hope it calms down by the time I reach SFO. I'm still not 100% packed but I am darn close. Very close. Friends have been calling to wish me luck, and I find as my hours dwindle so does my courage. I will push through the fear, after all, "We have nothing to fear, but fear it's self." - FDR, my second favorite president. Or perhaps Arya Stark is more your flavor? "Fear cuts deeper than swords." Take your pick, it's really the same thing. I am sure I will come back a changed person and most likely for the better.
My good friend Amber is taking me to the airport, we were going to meet half way but she decided to come get me instead. I am going to miss a lot of people next week and I suspect there will be tears on my part and possibly on others. My stepmom, who I love very much said, "Anyone can do anything for one week." I argued I probably couldn't get along with my sister. She agreed. So now I am filling my head with inspirational quotes, my bags with clothes I might not even wear, my kindle with books, and my heart with love from all those who have wished me luck. I will miss you all, I will write when I can. Gotta go finish packing and maybe one more Mordor style hot shower.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Last day in Ca.
Oh vey! My brain is a mushy blob of exhaustion. After a long day packing yesterday, my ride ti rge airport came to get me. I was supposed to meet Amber in Livermore but she wanted more time with me and drove the hour and a half to my house to pick me up. We killed some time just hanging out on the couch and talking. Our discussions quickly turned to boys. Yes even in your late 20's (GASP!!! Late 20's) we still talk about boys. Greg as always humbly sat by and interjected at random times. As we sat the seconds ticked away and Amber and I had to leave, after all we had a movie to catch. Taking off my wedding ring was emotional and difficult. I still feel naked without it. Saying good bye to Greg was hard as well. He stayed strong so it was easier for me to stay strong as well.
On our way to Concord, Amber bought me my last Caramel Frap for the month of June. All was going well till I clumsily spilled the coffee all over my Habitat for Humanity t-shirt. Oh well. We once again passed the time by talking about...boys. Hey for 10 months all we talk about is teaching. Okay, and sometimes boys. As I write this I realize I sound like one of my students.
Due to traffic, long good byes, and a sock hunt we ended up missing the 7:05pm showing of Brave. We opted to watch the 8:00 showing. I killed the time texting friends and socializing with a lot of Amber's family.
After Brave it was a mad dash to Amber's so I could borrow a hoodie. I forgot to pack one. If only I had also borrowed a belt as that was over looked. Oops! Will have to acquire one.
At this point I began to get nervous about time. As we pulled to the curb at SFO, my emotions started to win. Looking at Amber didn't help as her emotions were loosing their battle as well. We hugged and cried, confessed our love for one another, and it was very difficult to say good bye.
I am very thankful to her and our friendship, even when I am at my worst she is there. I am lucky to have her as a friend. Saying good bye to Amber reminded me of a time 2 years ago when my other best friend, Victoria, went on her Missions Trip to the Ukraine. I know what Amber is feeling and I know she will be okay in a couple of days.
Getting on my first leg of the trip was troublesome. I waited in one line only to find out that it was the wrong line. My flight was slotted to leave SFO at 12:25am. At 11:25pm I finally checked by bag. I made a mad dash to the gate and waited and waited. I texted Victoria and asked her to look at my flight on line, she came to realize that my flight would be late. VERY LATE. Departure time moved back to 1:50am. After a few more texts to Victoria she announces that my gate has changed as well as the departure time. I fear that if Victoria had not been up to date on my flight I would have missed it. So, thanks Vic! You're one of my best friends and I don't know what I would do without you. I miss you tons and can't wait for Longhorns Football season!!!
After several last texts and phone calls, I finally boarded my plane. It is 6:41am in Texas and we are currently making our descent. I met a nice man on the plane, we are the same age and we grew up in the same area. He is headed to Nicaragua to do a missions trip. He is a counselor for some schools in San Jose. He was pretty cute and would totally be up Amber's ally. Single too. Must remember to tell Amber.
I have slept maybe two hours on that plane. That is two hours of total sleep since 6am on the 22nd. It is now the 23rd. Staying up for so long messes with the dates in my head. I still have a flight to catch in Houston. One last leg till I finally reach Guatemala!
On our way to Concord, Amber bought me my last Caramel Frap for the month of June. All was going well till I clumsily spilled the coffee all over my Habitat for Humanity t-shirt. Oh well. We once again passed the time by talking about...boys. Hey for 10 months all we talk about is teaching. Okay, and sometimes boys. As I write this I realize I sound like one of my students.
Due to traffic, long good byes, and a sock hunt we ended up missing the 7:05pm showing of Brave. We opted to watch the 8:00 showing. I killed the time texting friends and socializing with a lot of Amber's family.
After Brave it was a mad dash to Amber's so I could borrow a hoodie. I forgot to pack one. If only I had also borrowed a belt as that was over looked. Oops! Will have to acquire one.
At this point I began to get nervous about time. As we pulled to the curb at SFO, my emotions started to win. Looking at Amber didn't help as her emotions were loosing their battle as well. We hugged and cried, confessed our love for one another, and it was very difficult to say good bye.
I am very thankful to her and our friendship, even when I am at my worst she is there. I am lucky to have her as a friend. Saying good bye to Amber reminded me of a time 2 years ago when my other best friend, Victoria, went on her Missions Trip to the Ukraine. I know what Amber is feeling and I know she will be okay in a couple of days.
Getting on my first leg of the trip was troublesome. I waited in one line only to find out that it was the wrong line. My flight was slotted to leave SFO at 12:25am. At 11:25pm I finally checked by bag. I made a mad dash to the gate and waited and waited. I texted Victoria and asked her to look at my flight on line, she came to realize that my flight would be late. VERY LATE. Departure time moved back to 1:50am. After a few more texts to Victoria she announces that my gate has changed as well as the departure time. I fear that if Victoria had not been up to date on my flight I would have missed it. So, thanks Vic! You're one of my best friends and I don't know what I would do without you. I miss you tons and can't wait for Longhorns Football season!!!
After several last texts and phone calls, I finally boarded my plane. It is 6:41am in Texas and we are currently making our descent. I met a nice man on the plane, we are the same age and we grew up in the same area. He is headed to Nicaragua to do a missions trip. He is a counselor for some schools in San Jose. He was pretty cute and would totally be up Amber's ally. Single too. Must remember to tell Amber.
I have slept maybe two hours on that plane. That is two hours of total sleep since 6am on the 22nd. It is now the 23rd. Staying up for so long messes with the dates in my head. I still have a flight to catch in Houston. One last leg till I finally reach Guatemala!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Pack, you NEED to pack....go pack!!!
I leave in a little over 24 hours. For some strange reason all these chores started calling my name today. I mowed, unloaded the dishes, loaded the dishes, folded clothes, visited the chiropractor, watered the lawn, played with the dogs, and spent more than enough time surfing Facebook. I swear that site is a virtual black hole that only swallows time. All of these things prevented me from packing. Did I mention I am going to the Farmers Market with my baby sister, Haley, later? Well I am. I mildly despise packing.
Maybe it is because I am a girl and girls tend to bring an excess of clothes and I know that I can't do that. Who needs to look their best while building houses? Not this girl. However, the thought of having pictures taken of myself all red faced, sunburned, sweaty, and dirty do not sound appealing. Don't get me wrong I am not a "fancy" kind of person but I don't want to look horrible either. Which reminds me I need to charge my batteries and empty my SD cards. I am sure there will be pictures where I don't look so hot but then again that is not why I am doing this.
I am doing this to fulfill a dream. You should do something today that takes you one step closer to your dream. How would you live your life if you knew today was the last day? Would you still watch your DVR episodes of America's Got Talent, or HGTV's design star? I bet you wouldn't. So why do we live our lives day by day and not realizing that particular days potential? I'm not innocent in this. I often find days to say, "eh, I don't have time for the gym today. Maybe tomorrow." No one ever regrets going to the gym. Though I suppose you would if you dropped a dumbbell on your foot. I digress, (every time I use that word I think of Thomas Seaton my Freshman and Senior year English teacher) my point is do something today. I friend of mine recently said,
"The first thing I do when I start my work day is to look at what's on the to-do list for the day and prioritize by how much I'm resisting doing each item. Then I get the #1 thing accomplished. After that, the rest of the day is easy!" -- Mark Callahan
So do what you don't want to do first. I did the opposite today and I fear I may regret that. I should have listened to Mark and did my packing first thing this morning but I didn't and once again I found something that NEEDED to be done, (this blog) and I did it. So now I must get going because I have a backpack that is whispering my name. Wish me luck, I hope I don't find anything else to do...oh right the Farmers Market!
Maybe it is because I am a girl and girls tend to bring an excess of clothes and I know that I can't do that. Who needs to look their best while building houses? Not this girl. However, the thought of having pictures taken of myself all red faced, sunburned, sweaty, and dirty do not sound appealing. Don't get me wrong I am not a "fancy" kind of person but I don't want to look horrible either. Which reminds me I need to charge my batteries and empty my SD cards. I am sure there will be pictures where I don't look so hot but then again that is not why I am doing this.
I am doing this to fulfill a dream. You should do something today that takes you one step closer to your dream. How would you live your life if you knew today was the last day? Would you still watch your DVR episodes of America's Got Talent, or HGTV's design star? I bet you wouldn't. So why do we live our lives day by day and not realizing that particular days potential? I'm not innocent in this. I often find days to say, "eh, I don't have time for the gym today. Maybe tomorrow." No one ever regrets going to the gym. Though I suppose you would if you dropped a dumbbell on your foot. I digress, (every time I use that word I think of Thomas Seaton my Freshman and Senior year English teacher) my point is do something today. I friend of mine recently said,
"The first thing I do when I start my work day is to look at what's on the to-do list for the day and prioritize by how much I'm resisting doing each item. Then I get the #1 thing accomplished. After that, the rest of the day is easy!" -- Mark Callahan
So do what you don't want to do first. I did the opposite today and I fear I may regret that. I should have listened to Mark and did my packing first thing this morning but I didn't and once again I found something that NEEDED to be done, (this blog) and I did it. So now I must get going because I have a backpack that is whispering my name. Wish me luck, I hope I don't find anything else to do...oh right the Farmers Market!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Pay It Forward
It is getting closer and closer! And of course I still have things I need to buy. I leave in 3 days! 3 DAYS! Still hasn't sunk in. I am not sure why it is still lacking to sink in. Perhaps it is because this is a dream that I have had since I was 17. Maybe not Guatemala per say but definitely another country where I could go and build something that would benefit the community that I am visiting as well as getting to know a whole new culture. On this particular trip, I will be building houses. I guess I should have mentioned that in my first post. Oh well.
I have calculated the post cards/thank you notes I will be sending from Guatemala and I realized just how blessed I am. I have 23 people who have helped me fund this dream of mine. Thank you everyone who has helped. You will be in my thoughts and prayers while I am in Guatemala. I especially want to give a great big HUGE thanks to Denise Pyles and the Pay it Forward Education Project, without this wonderful woman I am proud to call family and this project I would not be able to go to Guatemala.
I am not sure how much I will be able to update while in Guatemala but I will try. If I can't post, then I will write in a journal and re-type it when I get back. I will also post pictures upon my return. I better go buy those last things.
I have calculated the post cards/thank you notes I will be sending from Guatemala and I realized just how blessed I am. I have 23 people who have helped me fund this dream of mine. Thank you everyone who has helped. You will be in my thoughts and prayers while I am in Guatemala. I especially want to give a great big HUGE thanks to Denise Pyles and the Pay it Forward Education Project, without this wonderful woman I am proud to call family and this project I would not be able to go to Guatemala.
I am not sure how much I will be able to update while in Guatemala but I will try. If I can't post, then I will write in a journal and re-type it when I get back. I will also post pictures upon my return. I better go buy those last things.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Guatemala in 15 days
I leave for Guatemala in 15 days. I don't think it has set in yet. Maybe it's because I have the end of the school year on my mind. I have 5 more days with students and 6 more actual days of work...dang teacher service day. 15 DAYS! Yup still not sinking in.
I still have some things left to buy. I should probably do that soon.
One of my students, brought in some pictures of his Dad's trip to Guatemala. It looks absolutely stunning! So lush, green and vibrant. I am excited but it seems so far away. Plus I am a little fearful. I am going to a country without actually knowing anyone. Sire I have my habitat team but I don't even know what they look like. This is so far beyond my comfort zone. And with this I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." It will be an ADVENTURE!
I still have some things left to buy. I should probably do that soon.
One of my students, brought in some pictures of his Dad's trip to Guatemala. It looks absolutely stunning! So lush, green and vibrant. I am excited but it seems so far away. Plus I am a little fearful. I am going to a country without actually knowing anyone. Sire I have my habitat team but I don't even know what they look like. This is so far beyond my comfort zone. And with this I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." It will be an ADVENTURE!
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