Family Celebration

I spent Saturday at the beach with my family. The water was unbelievably warm and it was great fun. I will truly miss the beach this upcoming year, as I'm sure I will miss it every time I leave it - for the rest of my life.

Today was spent up in HB with my family. One could call it a Going Away Party, but it was very lowkey - just how I like it. The cake was amazing. It depicted a globe with an airplane in the middle. Across the plane 'Viel Glueck' was written ('good luck' in German). My grandparents, my aunt and uncle, my mom, dad, and brother were all among the esteemed guests of this shindig. It was great fun.

I got to see my favorite little cousin, which was awesome. At two years old, his laughter and smile can really light up my day! His comments are really hilarious as well. For example: "It's boken, I fix it. I fix it." Turns out, he was referring to the slit in my skirt! It was humorous, to say the least, but also so cute that he was offering to help me with this apparent problem.

It is so comforting to know how much support everyone is giving me for my trip. I know that this is what I am supposed to do, but I have trouble convincing myself of this sometimes. The support of my loving family and friends is what really convinces me.

On a lighter note, I experienced a random sitcom-moment this evening (I tend to observe and point these out often - go ahead and ignore this if you hate sitcoms). I had a ring stuck on my finger - don't ask how this happened - for a couple days now. It was really starting to hurt and my finger was actually swelling. So after many failed attempts, I pulled out all the stops in order to assure that I would succeed today. I soaked my finger in ice water for 10 minutes, my purpose being to shrink my hand (How often will I be able to say that?). Then I ran to the sink and put soap on my finger, while my mom pulled desperately at the ring. It took my brother's assistance to eventually remove the ring. The three of us pulling at my swollen finger in the kitchen must have been an odd sight. I had to laugh it off as just another sitcom-moment. Now, I feel so relieved to have that damn ring off of my finger. I feel like Frodo...

It was actually nice to share this sitcom-moment with my family. Perhaps when Teresa and I finally write our sitcom, this incident can be included. Don't hold your breath.