Coming home after a long leave is always really nice. Of course, as with anything that we anticipate, the THOUGHT of going home might actually be more enticing than actually BEING home. But, no, this year, it really was all I'd cracked it up to be.
Reunions, reunions, reunions. The word really got a negative connotation while I went through high school, but anymore, I'm more than happy to have reason for a reunion. Due to a large family, our own business, being a part of different organizations across the country, and loving to travel - I had several 'mini reunions' with many special people in my life in the past month.
Sarah & Mike Egan's sweater party with Danielle, Kristin, Sarah, Mike, and me
For one, going home is always awesome - and probably much, much different than the 'normal' persons homecoming. When visiting our farm market, Soergel Orchards, I'm able to visit with my entire family (and adopted, awesome, employees) in one fail swoop... probably 30-40 wonderful people at one time. Hugs, questions about skeleton, excited chats, and the very welcome sound of "Hi Seesol!" from my little cousins, all make me soo so so happy. Now that I'm an aged, mature, sophisticated, 25 years of age, I really have come to realize how truly special it is to have such a closeknit family, and such a great group of employees to create our family farm business. If you've never seen or heard about it, check out www.soergels.com - my grandpa, Pop, built the place from the ground up, and this Christmas was the first without him. The Holidays made me very aware of his passing, but I feel very blessed to have had him as such a large part of my life over the past 25 years.
New Years was really really great. I have spent the past 6 years at my friends' camp in mid-Pennsylvania, where friends, drinks, and jumping into a cold frozen creek fun abounds. I love Camp Bucktail III, and was apprehensive about changing my typical NYE plans. But my AmeriCorps NCCC girls were having a mini-reunion in New Orleans, and I found a cheap ticket, and simply HAD to go.
My AmeriCorps NCCC team spent 10 months of our lives together in 2008/9... travelling, volunteering, eating, sleeping, grocery shopping, 15-passenger van riding, laundering... everything that a typical 'couple' does...we did, as a family of 11. To say that our team became close over those 10 months is an understatement. Only five of us were able to get together... but Jamie, Phoenix, Shelly, Kristen, and my time in New Orleans over New years was filled with laughter, tears, and lots of Bourbon street shenanigans (all in good, clean, fun of course!). The 4 days, 3 nights, went extremely fast, and I tried to savor every minute that we had together.
Five of us girls from our AmeriCorps NCCC team! Kristen, Shelly, Phoenix, Jamie, and me
I paid for all my NOLA fun by spending the following 3 days cooped up in my parents house with the worst cold I can remember. My athletic training was at a minimal last week, as my head felt like it'd pop when I'd begin to over-exert myself. Since coming home from Placid, i'd hoped to get in a lot of work, and a lot of training... neither has been at the level I had imagined, but I'm happy that my lack in either direction has been made up in time spent with friends.
This week is my home-wrap-up-week. Seeing last minute friends that I haven't had a chance to see since being home, and reorganizing what things I need to take to Placid. Next weekend I'll be visiting Katie Doster, my AmeriCorps team leader, in New Jersey - and then heading to Schenectady to see Heather Furman, one of my Bike&Build teammates, and then heading the rest of the way to Lake Placid, NY. It will be SOOO nice to get back into a routine again.
My time here at home has been fantastic, but I'm chompin at the bit to get back on the ICE!
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