For many years my Mimi’s family has a reunion in Missouri the second
weekend of June. When I was young our
family would make a summer trip out of it. It was great to see all of the extended family
and enjoy some time connecting to my dad’s Midwest roots. We always stayed with my dad’s Uncle John and
Aunt Lettie, who were like grandparents to my siblings and me. The past few
years I have enjoyed going with my dad and seeing everyone!
We left early on Friday morning and then spent some time
shopping on the Plaza before lunch with my Aunt Lettie. We
also went with her to the Liberty Memorial which honors
the military
servicemen of World War I.
It was really pretty and has a nice view of
the city from the top.
Aunt Lettie has
bricks on the Walk of Honor for my Uncle John and her brothers. My grandfathers and all of my great-uncles served in the military (World War II and the Korean War) so it was special to see the brick with Uncle
John’s name on it! These were the only pics I took all weekend, unfortunately!
Saturday was a very full day! We drove to Sedalia and enjoyed lunch at the
family reunion. We stopped in Holden on the way back to visit my sister’s
in-laws and had some delicious blackberry cobbler. That evening we had an early dinner with
relatives in Kansas City. On Sunday
morning we attended church with Aunt Lettie and then it was off to the
airport.
My dad’s flight back to Houston was very delayed so he waited
with me at my gate to keep me company.
It suddenly hit me that I was going to TeachBeyond Orientation and this
whole moving-to-Budapest continues to become more and more real. I was feeling really anxious about everything
and started crying (I cry when I’m nervous…).
I knew I’d be fine once I got there, but I just felt overwhelmed. I told him, if getting on the plane to Chicago
feels like such an ordeal, how on earth am I ever going to get on plane to
Budapest? I am truly excited for this next chapter but as I have shared before, there is always an underlying layer of anxiety surrounding the whole thing! Nothing upsets me more than the thought of leaving my family behind...
Thankfully my dad is not the
type of dad that gets awkward with a gooey show of emotions. First of all, he can always make me laugh. He’s so sweet and always understanding. He reminded me of two things that I needed to
hear, that did not feel true at the moment: I am brave and I can do this. So, I got on the plane, settled my soul and prayed for the week ahead! More to come in my next post. :)
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