With every family event like this, life becomes a little more real. It’s amazing how God constructs a life and a heart so that they can be satisfied. It doesn’t take much and yet the abundance is everywhere.

We arrived home sometime around and before 8pm. After hotel checkout we drove over toward Rockford where my sister’s son was having a birthday party at an outdoor park place. It was a nice time and again the weather was comfortable and beautiful for a late October day. We played a round of mini-golf which was a nice recovery activity after a long and busy day the day before. We took turns riding on the go-karts which was also very fun. We had pizza again on the way home.

The wedding was just one of those things where there was just too much there to even begin to write about it. We were soaking in the moments and enjoying the people and surroundings. My sister’s now husband comes from a wealthier family and they were in charge of putting on the reception. There are such things as fancy receptions. Now all of a sudden I’m regretting that I did not do more to help my daughter get ready. I didn’t even care myself. I just put my dress on, tried to shape my eyebrows just a tad, brushed my cheeks and that was it. It just wasn’t a big deal.

We were not the main people. Like, just because people have natural beauty doesn’t mean it’s not still fun or good to try to make that beauty stand out, not even for the sake of other people seeing or noticing, but just to be true to who you most are. But anyway the wedding was truly beautiful and the reception very fun and just a lovely time. It seems like the more life you live the more time you want for the things in life that truly matter, like spending time with the people you care about.

We partied into the night, or at least until the time of day was officially almost over. The whole day leading up to it seems like almost a blur now except I did just remember. I told everyone I was not going to be able to visit or be social until I’d gotten through the morning cross country races. Dad and the boys were in Williamsville and Ethan was running his cross country meet in Ashland, Nebraska. I knew this was supposed to be his final cross country meet for his college career.

I guess this entire time he had been trying to make conference. In order to do that you need to be in the top ten. He finished 11th again after beating out one of the regular top ten runners. But one of the teammates who has been battling with an injury this year did really well after several races of dying out. He finished even before Vaughn and so that put Ethan back at 11. I don’t think he is seeing how much of an accomplishment this is after so many times of finishing in such other places.

So coach told him that it was between him and another guy for alternate and he went with the other guy because the other one has consistently scored in the top ten the whole season. To me I think this is great, but…anyway the boys did well at regionals and advanced to sectionals next weekend. Both of the boys had PR’s, one by 13 seconds and the other by almost 40. They again finished very close together, this time being only four tenths of a second apart. Elianna and I watched both races.

I haven’t traveled enough to know if there is such a thing as fancy hotels. It seems like hotels are one of those things that either end up exceeding my expectations or completely missing the mark with them. The ones that exceed my expectations are ones like the one we stayed in a few weeks ago when all we needed was a place to crash for the night. It was a very expensive but comfortable 12-hour stay. And then you have times where you’re supposed to be hanging out for two days.

We’re on the tenth floor of a hotel where the only working elevator is a small service elevator off to the side somewhere. The stairwells are dark and metallic, but I have made two trips down and one trip up so far. The room that was 87 degrees when we walked in has made its way down to 75. I think your body just gets used to the heat after a while because it feels so hot when you first walk in and then it’s like you hardly even notice it. They did at least get the air conditioning working.

We had my sister’s rehearsal dinner tonight. Elianna and I came up while Josh and the boys stayed behind. They have their regional meet tomorrow and are hoping to make sectionals. I miss them and wish that either they were up here or that I was with them. I’m sore and tired tonight so do not have much to put toward being downstairs. I’m sure I’m not the only one I just feel like I need to go to bed. I could pray for the weekend and for God to bless everyone and everyone’s time here.

I came home from our meeting the other day and lo and behold the kitten from the summer was sitting in front of our house. We haven’t seen him (her?) for close to two and a half months since camp ended and then he was just there. I stayed in the van and took a picture of him and then recorded him making his way from the corner by the woods toward the other side of the house where I imagine he was heading toward the food. I sent the video out to everybody instantly.

Before he could get to the food another cat scared him away and he ran back into the woods. I haven’t seen him since but none of us could believe he was still around. I had a talk with my Hope director this afternoon and told her that I was basically fairly sure that I was needing to leave there. I said the best way I could describe it was that I had a head reason and a heart reason. Conversations like this are never easy to have. It wasn’t an official notice it was just letting her know where I was at.

I’m really upset about it but I also feel peace. I am also wanting to fully let go of my nursing job. I was trying to hold onto it and wanted to make it work but I just have too many other things that I am wanting and trying to do, and I don’t need it anymore. I made it to my five year mark which is something that I wanted. I will keep up my nursing license but I do not have a desire to do that job anymore. I’ve been enjoying the cooler weather and bright blue skies which come this time of year.