fifteen pounds and six feet UNDER

Here I sit, comfy dress and all in the Charlotte International Airport...bags all checked (35 lbs each..I'm so proud they were under 50lbs. Probably the only thing in my life thats ever been UNDERweight. HAHA!)I've had last minute goodbye conversations with close friends, nice long hugs with my mom and sister... Going away for this long seems similar to planning your own dying day (in a non-morbid manner). I've taken care of my belongings, stored them away (if not thrown them/given them away), found a home for my Jeep and said my final goodbyes. So much to prepare for going away for a year really can be an exhausting series of events; only, when death arrives I won't have to worry about silly passport applications (and fees. boo.), storage spaces or if any of my bags are overweight. I've tried to capture each moment for it's beauty and simplicity. Instead of listening to the radio in the car, I've enjoyed the quietness while taking in the scenery- usually associated with traffic in North Carolina- but, still it's America, and we have traffic here. Traffic with scrapbooked bumpers of who's campaigning that year, what the latest music crazes are and an occassional "BABY ON BOARD!" We really are such an expressive society. Looks, books, odds and ends- we express ourselves through everything we do- somewhat like the man sitting to my immediate right- bald head, clean shaven, wire-rimmed glasses reading a fortune 500 book(business looking from the waist up) and then the curveball: cowboy boots and a leather carry-on rolling suitcase. I"m a believer that this man's somehow either related to Sheryl Crow or works in the Corporate Toyota offices and is going on a little plane trip to visit the truck-building boys over in Texas and just wants to fit in.
He might get beat up.
Let's just hope for the best.

Anyway, yes..capturing life's simplicity. Colsen's sticky, "raisin surprise" fingers, his innocent, high-pitched rendition of Bob's song, the smell of my mother's perfume "pew-fume", watching Taryn sing with her eye's closed at Watershed, the look in Scott's eyes when he looks at Taryn (the good one that is), how beautifully pregnant Taryn is and watching my unborn nephew grow a little everyday, looking over in church ans seeing my mom and clark holding hands...I'm so happy my mom has someone to hold hands wth, and finally, someone that loves her holding her hand, Rita's sweet words, my Dad's encouragement.. Love surrounds me. My family is love..and I've had the honor of having a little of all of this all my life.
Life is good. today, life is good.

Also- I just found out I'm not going to be living at the school in Thailand. I was just informed that the school will be giving me an allowance to find an apartment. oh boy, my mom's not gonna like that. (attention mom: it's okay. i'll be fine. i love you, too).

so, that's it. i'm going to detroit now. hello, kid rock.







.....or no, maybe he drives for NASCAR.