Well, by the time many of you will read this, I'll be on a 7:15am jet plane bound for home - to Indiana - after having been gone for the past 4.5 months. Oh how awesome it feels to be headed back home to see my Dad and Step mom, my girlfriends, etc. I've missed them all so very much. I should be in bed considering how I need to be up in four short hours getting ready for the airport but I thought I'd blog first. I thought I'd blog and let you all know that because of me being in Indiana and because my laptop is still in the shop, I most likely won't be blogging again until next Tuesday. I'll have access to my emails but probably won't have the ability to blog while I'm gone. Good news is...I talked to Best Buy and my left arm (a.k.a my laptop) is being shipped back as we speak. It should be in by the end of the week. Of course I won't be able to pick it up until next Tuesday though once I'm back in Florida. Bummer I say. Bummer! At least I know my life can return to normal once it is back in my hands. I have photography sessions to blog about and tons of random photos to share with you guys. It's been a looonnnggg 2.5 weeks without it. :(
For now though, I'm focusing on the positive. I'm centered on the fact that in less than 24 hours I'll get to see my Dad again for the first time since moving from Indy to Florida. I'll get to give him a big ol' hug and will thoroughly enjoy vegging out on his couch for the next week. He called the other night and told me all of the things that him and my step-mom were doing in preparation for our arrival. Then Cathy emailed (my step mom) and said she was headed to the grocery store to stock up on our favorite items. They are too good to me. Way too good to me. I've missed them dearly. Moving away from home for the first time in your 34 years of life is tough - very very tough. And when you move across 5 states, it is even more tough. Honestly though, the only thing I miss about Indiana is them and my friends. There isn't much else I miss. I love living in Florida and I love the perks that come along with living here as well. The sea and I are total B/F/F's and are truly thick as thieves. However, there is a familiarity that comes along with "home." I'm looking forward to that familiar way of life when we touch down there tomorrow. I can't wait to spend Easter night with my girlfriends. One of them has a new apartment and a new chapter in her life. I can't wait to see her, raid her new pad, and just hug each of them. I miss the consistent get togethers with them. I'm definitely ready to whip out big Pappa and snap some shots of some fun moments with the crew while in town. :) I need some new images of all of us for the frames within our new home here in Florida. As I type, I'm looking at all of our feet sitting here on my desk - framed in a picture frame - as we sugared our toes in the sand here on the beach when they came down last time for a girls trip. Love those memories!
So...as you can see on the map below...I'll be visiting Indianapolis (dead center on the map below), as well as the city below Indianapolis (Greenwood) which happens to be my hometown, and then also the city above Indianapolis (Carmel) which is where we lived when we moved away from Indy. I've got lots of rounds to make while home but it will be worth every minute of it.
The best part of it all...Indy is supposed to have gorgeous weather this week while we are in town. My friends and family called in some favors and adjusted the weather accordingly for our arrival apparently. Gotta' love that! In the meantime, I hope each of you have a FAB week/weekend yourself. Our plane doesn't fly back into Florida until late next Monday night. Stay tuned and be watching for all new photos and updates from our trip come next Tuesday. I've got tons of back-logged blogging material now. YAY for new content! LOL! Thanks for being patient while I take this short hiatus. Our regular scheduled programming will return on April 6th. Wink wink! ;)
No, this isn't me. Found this image online and thought it was fitting.
Tonight was one of those nights. Another one of those nights. You know the kind where you are so homesick that your entire insides ache. For those who've never lived away from home, it might be difficult to comprehend. However, I've had a few of those moments in recent months. Beings that I lived within minutes of my parents for my entire 34 years of life, moving 977 miles away from home hits hard. It's been about 8 weeks since we've been gone. However, nights like tonight make it feel as thought it has been 8 years.
I skyped with my Dad and Cathy a little while ago. It was 80 degrees here in sunny Florida today but it is snowing by leaps and bounds in Indiana right now. They are getting hit hard and totally drenched with a snow storm. The type of snow that made me nuts when living there. My Dad picked his laptop up while skyping and carried it to his front door. He held up the computer so myself and the kids could see outside and into the snow. Behind the snow fall was my Grandma's house. She lives across the street from them in the same neighborhood. Seeing the snowfall and her house made my heart sink. I miss her and Patti (my aunt - Cathy's sister). I miss my Dad and Cathy themselves terribly. And in a very sick and twisted sort of way, I miss that daggone nasty snow. GASP! I know. I know. I said it. I can't believe it either. All of my Indiana friends instantly emailed me on facebook when I said that there and reassured me that I "DON'T" want to be home right now. I appreciate their pep talks. In the end though, there really is no place like home. Not even the beach.
We are making plans to get back home within the next couple of months. Although we've only been away for 8 weeks (basically like when we used to stay in Florida for our Summers), I can't wait to return to Indy - snow on the ground or not. I want to veg out on my Dad's couch, eat Cathy's home cooked food, visit with Grandma Dixie, watch Kenidi play tug of war with Eddie (their dog), stuff myself with my Dad's stash of peanut m&m's in the bowl that rests faithfully on their counter, and most importantly...just hug them. Hug them tightly. Oh how I love my parents. I have the best Dad in the world and I'm so blessed by his support. And although I've ALWAYS known that, being 977 miles away from him now makes me realize that even more so than I had before. I can't wait for them to come visit here, watch Brennen play basketball again, see Kenidi ride her horse at therapy, cheer with her special needs cheer team, etc. It's no longer important for me to have them come here so that we can go to the beach together and such like we always have in the past. Now it is the simple stuff that I miss like the fact that they came to every single game Brennen ever played in. Basketball and football was always a huge family affair with several bleacher rows full of friends and family that were "Brennen fans." Now the bleachers seem eerily empty.
