Ok, Part 3.
Now I remember what I did before I went to Sarah and Ryan's. I spent time with Brandy! She's so fun. I had a good time chatting with her. She now lives in the apartment complex I lived in while I was in school, cept she lives in the downstairs apartments. She's an Asian theme going as decor. She's working a lot this summer because she's saving up for a new viola. Anyway, so that was what I was doing before I left for Springfield to see Sarah and Ryan. Ok, on to Wednesday!
So Wednesday I had lunch with Walt at Mellers, the school cafeteria. Havent had cafeteria food in years. No big surprises there. Still tasted like the last time I had it, about 3 years ago. We had a good time eating and chatting. Walt wore a pair of cowboy jeans that was slit at the bottom and had purple fabric where the slit was. I told him, I'm embarrassed to walk with you.
Then I went to see Judy Dutile. She is the person in charge of International Students, and we had a lot of contact with each other. She even came to my Senior Recital with Dr Dutile, who is the provost of the college. They are getting ready to go to Thailand with Dr Taylor, the president of SBU and Mrs Taylor, and some other people to teach English. I asked her, so are the men teaching English too? Or is it just the ladies. She said just the ladies, so I asked, what are the guys going to do? And she said, run around for us! And I had to laugh. I can just imagine Dr Dutile and Dr Taylor running around for their wives, who are in charge.
Then I spent a coupla hours with Dr Parker and his family. They are in the process of selling their house because they are moving to North Carolina. They had someone come over to see the house while i was there, and I said, you go ahead, I will watch Brianna for you! Might as well, since I was there! And Brianna and I had a great time together. She wanted me to lie on my tummy so she could tackle me. Apparently, she and Alex, her brother, play tackle a lot. She's such a fun child. And she talks a lot too. It's so much fun to listen to her talk. Anyway, Dr Parker and Lori and I had a great time visiting and chatting and talking about their future home in NC. Then I went to visit with Dr Brown and his family. It was so good to see them again. They all look the same, even Jason. I spent a coupla hours with them, talking to them, looking at photos of when Dr Brown and his sons went and hiked the Grand Canyon. We didnt talk about anything very important, but it was really comforting and peaceful to be around them again. They were such a big part of my life in school, and they still are, even though they are far away. Jason and his band, Chaplain, cut a CD, and I got a free copy of it, compliments of his parents. And it's really good! I am very impressed by it.
Then I had dinner with Johnna, whom I met through Sarah. She was Sarah's maid of honor at her wedding, and we became friends and got along great. I had a really nice time chatting with her.
On Thursday I had to return the car, so I had Jana come pick me up at Springfield airport. She hasnt changed a bit. She brought Evan, her brother, along, and boy he's changed a lot! I thought he was a girl for a while, with his long hair. We chatted all the way back to Carthage, after saying Hi to her mom, we left for lunch at Bamboo Gardens, or as I always say, Bamboo Shoots. We took Shawn with us. Shawn is her nephew, and he's really cute. He usually doesnt give people hugs and kisses, but I got some! And he tried to say my name. Granted, he could only say Au! But we knew he was talking about me! He seemed to like me, so that was great. He made a royal mess at lunch though! He had more rice on the floor and on himself than in his tummy. After lunch, we went back to Jana's house, and just hung out there. She took a nap, and I chatted with her parents a little. She kept saying that she was a bad hostess because she fell asleep, but I totally didnt mind. Made me feel like I wasnt gone a whole year at all! Then we went to Fashion Bug to look at clothes, and it ended up her buying clothes and I bought 2 pieces of jewellery which was on sale. Jana's mom cooked dinner and it was a very yummy in the tummy kinda dinner. We had Roast and potatoes and other stuff. Jana and I snacked on this snack called puppy chow I think. They called it something else, but it's basically chocolate puppy chow. (Dad and mom, it's NOT dog food.) Then we went over to Jana's sister's house, and chatted with her sister Annie, and her husband Steve for a while. Shawn was all over the place. He even grabbed my fingers to pull me to his swing because he wanted to swing, and he wanted me to push him! Apparently if he uses the 2-finger pull, that means he likes the person. NEATO!
Jana had to take my back to Bolivar, which was about 1 1/2 hours away, and her mom was very uneasy about her driving alone so late, so she spent the night in Bolivar. When I got home, Rachel was still up, and we had fun chatting, and we both had to pack because I was leaving the next morning, and she was taking me back to Kansas City airport and then going further north back to her home to attend a wedding on Saturday.
We had breakfast at Brenda's the next morning before we left because we didnt know when we were going to eat again. We chatted all the way up and talked about everything and anything. I got to the airport 3 hours early, and sat and read my book while waiting for my flight. I had bought a cup of coffee and drunk it, and I thought to myself, I better go to the bathroom before I board the plane. And I did, but in mid flight, I had to go to the bathroom again. It wouldnt have been so bad if I had an aisle seat, but I had the window seat, and I felt bad asking the 2 people next to me get up so I could go to the bathroom! But man, I felt so much better after that. The 2 girls who sat next to me on the plane also attended a wedding, and they had nice bridesmaids bouquets of white roses.
So I'm back in CA now. All in all, it was a very good trip. I'm glad for the chance to go back to Bolivar and see the people who are so dear to me. The one thing I appreciated about this trip was that I experienced the simplicity of life again, after a year of hustle and bustle of CA life. And it was so peaceful and refreshing and comforting to be around such good folks again. Good doesnt really describe who they are, but I cant find a better word for it. All of them have treated me and loved me like family, and I will never forget that. I feel like I've never been gone, and that's the way I like it! It was an amazing trip back, and I hope to do it again soon.