| | Okay, so I figured an update on my life was much needed. So much has happened this summer; so much has changed. I feel like a completely different person from the one I was in May. So here goes....
This was the summer of three weddings and a funeral. So much joy amidst so much pain. It's hard to put into words how I feel about everything that's happened in the last eleven weeks. There have been multiple times where I have tried to talk about something that happened, but I felt odd leaving out the parts that can be difficult to mention. It seemed somewhat like a lie to say that I was thrilled about something when I was feeling the opposite emotion about something else.
I left Taylor at the end of May unsure of where I was in life. It felt like I was cutting myself out of everything that had happened at Taylor in April. It was ... easier it seemed to just leave without dealing with the emotions that I felt. So I did. It probably wasn't the most healthy thing to do, but it was so much better than thinking about it at the time.
I spent my last week at Tayor scrambling to study for finals, frantically finishing the yearbook, packing, and saying goodbyes. I don't remember a lot of detail from that week, except for a few that really struck me. Someone who I consider a good friend had what TU students call a "carefrontation" with me the last week of school that hurt. A lot. I still don't know how I feel about the situation except that it left me with a sour taste in my mouth for the so-called Taylor community. I think looking back on it, things were said in haste that shouldn't have been said. I've gotten over the words, but not how they were said.
When I got home after spending several sleepless nights with our dear yearbook advisor working on that dreadful project, I crashed. I think I slept (and watched TV) for two days straight. Finals were over, sophomore year was over, and I needed to rejuvinate.
I talked to Giordano's, got on the schedule to waitress, and started my summer off the following week.
The first wedding I went to this summer was Bryan and Claire Smith's. It was beautiful. For those of you who don't know, Bryan is Matt's cousin. The wedding was in Michigan in June and despite a brief rainstorm the night of the rehearsal, everything went off without a hitch. After the wedding , Matt, his parents, sister, and I went up to Mackinac Island for a fun vacation. I had never been there, and I had a really great time getting away for a week or so (see previous post for photos).
When I got back from the wedding, I started working several nights a week as a waitress. I got to know a lot of new people and I really enjoyed their friendship over the last three months. Sometimes I made a lot of money ... and other times I didn't. But I can't say it wasn't interesting. I loved my regular tables (especially the cute old couple that always ordered spaghetti with meatsauce and italian sausage and gave me a $10 tip every time).
In the middle of June I was called on to serve as a nurse, chauffeur, and cook for poor wisdom-toothless Matt. By nurse I mean push vicodin, by chauffeur I mean get a speeding ticket in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, and by cook I mean go to Panera and by smoothies. But at least I was appreciated :)
The next wedding I attended was Melissa and Brad Moser's. I cried a lot at that one. It was so beautiful to see how far they have come as a couple in the last year and a half. I adore Brad so much more because of how faithful and loyal and loving he was to Melissa through her sickness and heart surgery. I also got to spend several days with my good friend Megan and her boyfriend. I revisited parts of Chi-town that I haven't seen since I was eight. It was great.
The following week came the most difficult part of my summer. After struggling for four weeks with advanced stages sarcomas (a rare form of cancer), Caitlyn's dad passed away in his sleep. He was too young. All I wanted to do through all of it was be there for my best friend, but what do you say? How do you say I am so sorry beyond words and not make it sound mundane? I don't know, and I don't think I ever will know. It brought up a lot of stuff that I didn't deal with at the end of the school year, and it pushed my emotions to the limit. However, I will say that I was glad to see so many people rally around Caitlyn and her family, even though most of us hadn't seen each other in over a year. The best news is that I will go to Florida to visit Caitlyn this year and I truly cannot wait.
After another month of spilling ranch and creamy garlic dressing on myself at Giordanos (never knew I could smell so bad), I took a week off to fly to Arizona with the aforementioned Melissa for Emily and Anders Helquist's wedding. YAY!! FINALLY!! This was just last week and I think I can say this was one of the best part's of my summer. Emily called me a few weeks before the wedding and asked me to be her "personal attendant" for the wedding. I was honored. Em was one of my best friends at TU freshman year and I got to personally see her's and Anders' relationship change and grow. Emily, Anders, Matt and I all worked on the paper together and consquently spent many many hours together.
Emily made the perfect blushing bride as she planned, coordinated and set up her entire wedding. She was confident, happy, and non-stressed the entire week. The ceremony was gorgeous - a late evening wedding lit by candles with romantic red to accent the wedding white. I had so much fun and I will post photos of the pre-wedding fun on my photoblog later.
So. That was my summer (mostly). I leave for Taylor in three days and tonight was my last night as a summer waitress. I got accepted into the Irish Studies Program for the spring semester and I leave on January 19th. I plan on making the most of last four months in the states. In three days I will embark on my last semester living in English Hall. I will face the things that I avoided for the beginning of the summer with newfound strength. I will spend the next sixteen weeks studying, working on the newspaper, but most of all-having relationships. Because if I learned anything from my three weddings and a funeral it was that people are by far the most important.
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| | Posted 8/21/2006 12:24 AM - 43 Views - 6 eProps - 3 comments
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