This isn't right. She should be here. Forgive me for not being passed this, for still being incredibly sad. This blog entry is a wonderful gift tonight, but it also evidence of a very good thing - the blessing of being Taylor Renee's mom.
So tonight's entry is largely Taylor Renee's words... about us.
FAMILY FUN
I realize that Josie and I usually have very long dry spells between blogs, chalking up the delay to lack of ideas, not having time and really just having life. So in turn by writing this a day later I am in fact admitting I, A. Don’t have much of a life right now and B. Have a lot of time with just me and my thoughts (my thoughts and I just doesn’t sound good here mom).
I would first like to clarify, after being called out in one of Josie’s drafts (never published) and by my little brother, I do in fact know that Harry Potter lived in a “cupboard under the stairs”. I was using my artistic license in describing my room which is, ON TOP OF the stairs. So the two of you can just calm it down.
Life in America has been much of the same, work, summer classes and cheer camps (I still stand by my statement that I am too old for cheer camp). But recently my family and I took a trip to Kansas City, one of our favorite weekend destinations. Since this is the most exciting thing to happen to me in the last two weeks, aside from going to the store so I didn’t have to have a peanut butter sandwich for dinner for the 100th time, I will divulge every glorious detail. You’re welcome.
If you know anything about my family, you know that anytime we are together it is a recipe for one of two things: perfection or disaster. This fact is exemplified when taking trips in the car. Once when we were in Disney World waiting in line for Mission Space, overhead the intercom kept reminding those in line “If you do not like dark, enclosed, tight spaces, Do not get on this ride.” Such a warning should also exist for a Witcher family road trip. If you are not prepared for hours of relentless teasing (usually at my brothers expense), really bad sing-alongs or my brothers never ending slew of questions, do not get on this ride. If I had a dollar for every time Mom shook her head at us three kids (my dad being the third child), I could fly to Italy to see Josie right now. With that being said, we made it to KC with most everyone’s pride still in tact. My brother, who always takes the worst of the blows, wasn’t standing quite as proud as when we started but in all honesty this was for the best. His teen ego grows exponentially more every time I return home and it is my job, no, my duty as the elder sister to remind him how the hierarchy works in this family. As it is, being the youngest, Wade is the bottom of the food chain. (Don’t feel bad for him, he is really smart and uses this to his advantage. Not in any way ever mistreated. Arguably favored by Mom.)
We made it into KC just in time to check-in to our hotel and make our way to the primary reason for embarking on this trip: Yankees vs The Royals at The K. If you learn anything for this post its this, for my family, going to see the Yankees is the equivalent of opening presents on Christmas morning. We love it. We arrived at the ballpark about a half hour before game time and found our seats. Now, I am a firm believer that there is never a bad seat at a baseball game. However, I will admit that our seats were not ideal. This was not because of location or comfort, but more to do with the rambunctious group of 5th grade boys who had sat down behind us. I am not angry for these “boys being boys”, especially at a baseball game, but there is something to be said for volume control (I can still hear the ringing in my ears.) But have no fear, because my dad, being the sort of guy who always charms his way into these things, figured out a way to upgrade our seats. Go Dad.
Of course, my Yanks pulled out a win (as usual) and my family stayed and enjoyed the fireworks show with happy hearts (because of our win) and full tummies (because hotdogs). Much to my dismay The Captain was off for this game (The Captain is Derek Jeter and if you didn’t know this, I’m not sure we can be friends). However, I am hopeful I will see him play when Josie and I take on Rangers Stadium to watch our two teams play- sidebar whether our friendship makes it through this match up is yet to be decided– but until then I will just have to wait. If he does not play, real tears will be shed.
The next and final day on our trip in KC, the boys spent the day playing golf and my Mom and I spent our day shopping on The Plaza and making very poor eating decisions (By poor I mean unhealthy, however we have each decided we have hashtag no ragrets because it was the best food we’ve ever eaten). After we were all shopped out, my Mom and I decided to sit and enjoy the sunshine by this giant fountain just outside of the plaza. There, we people watched and wondered why a man dressed in camo shorts thought it would be a good idea to climb to the top of this fountain and drink from the spewing water. To each his own I guess.
Apart from that, life is the same. Work in Norman to cheer camp at OU- sidebar escaped without any injuries this year. self-five – and continuing to piece together our little home, which I have decided is a doll house made for little people due to the short ceilings and tight corners. I still love it though. The only thing out of the ordinary is Buggy (my car) has made a few to many trips to the shop this summer for my liking. A small part of me believes that her ability to be so high-maintenence is a poetic metaphor from the Big Man above to provide an example of how annoying my high-maintenance tendencies are and continue to be for my friends. PTL for his grace, his ability to love me despite myself and his humor.
As we come into the mid-way point of our Big/Little separation, I anxiously await Josie’s return, as well as Alex’s (a friend who’s studying in Spain), but I also find myself becoming more anxious to embark on my own journeys abroad. I have dreamed of traveling to Europe ever since discovering I could purposefully do things to get under my mother’s skin, leaving the country being close to the top of the list (Lolz just kidding mom).
But, seeing as my trip is still a very long 6 months away, I will just have to be patient and find more local and less expensive ways to annoy my mother while enjoying my time and the beginning of the decline of my college career here in Norman. (weird right?) The summer and the fall are my favorite times of the year because of three things: sunshine, road trips & Football.
72 days until Football Time in Oklahoma friends. Boomer Sooner.
#golighttheworld