The Giving of Thanks

I missed Thanksgiving. I’m in Chile, and they don’t celebrate it here. Yesterday my host mom pulled the Christmas tree out of storage and it makes me sad because it reminds me of the Thanksgiving shaped void in my life right now.

Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday next to Christmas and my birthday (which tie for first). I love the amazing delicious beautiful food that I’m allowed to gorge myself on once a year and not feel bad about my life choices. I love that my family goes around the table and says what we’re thankful for.  I love the story behind the holiday of two races coming together and celebrating their friendship and the plentiful harvest. I love that once a year, all over the country, no matter how terrible a person’s life is or how pessimistic someone is, they have a reason to think of the things and people that make their life wonderful and express that to their loved ones. I love that families who are broken can set aside their differences for just a little bit, eat an amazing meal together, and say something they are thankful for about one another. I love that when you normally wouldn’t express this to someone, you have the excuse of a holiday to tell them just how much you love someone and are thankful for them. I love that we have a once a year reminder to thank God for blessing us so abundantly and we remember all the things in our lives that are worth being thankful about.  I just really love Thanksgiving a lot!

I wish I was in the States right now. I’m missing it by nine days!

But on the bright side, I can still be thankful even from 5000 miles away from home. Obviously.

I’m thankful for my family. My mom and dad are wonderful and they’ve taught me so much. They’ve stuck together through the good and the bad and they’ve set an amazing example for what it means to love unconditionally. Rachel has a beautiful and fun personality. It’s been wonderful growing up with someone so close in age and to know I will always have someone to talk to and turn to. Lucas is funny and has a kind heart. He is a protector and I know he’ll always have my back. Jonathan is so creative and affectionate. He’s really sweet and he loves to love by spending time with his family. Even though we’ve all had our differences and we get fed up with each other sometimes, I know that in the end family is forever and we’ll always love each other.

I’m thankful for Zach.  He has a beautiful heart and a creative mind. He loves God and strives to honor Him. He is loving and thoughtful and sweet and I kind of really love him. 🙂 I’m so blessed to know him and to have dated him for the past year.

I’m thankful for my friends. Elaine, Kayla, Lauren, Caroline, Xanda, DJ, Tris, David, Jihoon, Sodam, etc. They are all beautiful people who I love dearly. They encourage me, challenge me to be a better person, and make me laugh. I’m so blessed to know every one of you.

I’m thankful for Grove City College, for the opportunity I’ve been given to receive such an excellent education, and the amazing friends I’ve made here.

I’m thankful for Chile and for the experiences I’ve had and the memories I’ve made and for the people I’ve met. I’m especially thankful for my host family, Rosy and Manuel, for caring for me and inviting me into their home and family for four months.

I’m thankful for music, and the beauty of nature, and everything else I love that I don’t have time to talk about right now.

Last but definitely not least, I’m thankful for God because all of these other things I’m thankful for are gifts from him. Even though I don’t deserve it I’ve been forgiven, saved, blessed abundantly, and loved unendingly by the creator and sustainer of the universe and that is truly amazing.

Okay so I know I’m posting this a day after Thanksgiving but that’s okay because we can be thankful every day of the year!

Also, I will be posting about Machu Picchu and other adventures very very soon I promise!

Peace!

Chile’s Independence Week

This post is long overdue. September 18th is Chile’s independence day, but the people celebrate during the entire week. It’s a time of closed shops, flying flags, festivals, parties, drinking, dancing, and asados (aka Chilean BBQ).  I ate so much good food at so many asados!

The one I remember most was at Rossy’s house in Valparaiso. I was there for around twelve hours with no internet so it was a little boring but that wasn’t a bad thing.  The day was lovely so I got some sunshine and relaxation and really amazing food.  Most of her family was there and it was really fun to watch them interact. Rossy is seriously adorable. She was the life of the party with her hospitality, laughter, and dancing to the music.

 

 

This is the incredible view from Rossy’s house in Valpo. The little boy in the center is Rossy’s niece’s 5ish year old grandson.  At least… I think that’s how they’re related… haha!

I love my converse shoes.

Another awesome part of the independence festivities are Las Fondas. It’s a huge festival on the horse race track with amusement rides, tent vendors selling clothes, art, toys, and souvenirs, as well as delicious food like choripan, empanadas, anticuchos, and churros, drinks, and artisan chocolates. So much goodness. I bought so much food and a shirt made from alpaca fur with llama pictures woven into it.

Tris and I met some nice guys who sold us empanadas and took a picture for us!

 

These are some of the prettiest things that the vendors had to sell.

 

  

So this was from last month. Sorry I haven’t kept my blog super updated. You can expect two more overdue blog posts in the near future.

Peace!

Photobooth Fun

My parents and I made a photobooth for our family reunion. Here are the results of that! (Disclaimer: These photos were taken by my cousin, Shelly Mohr.)

This is me being a stuck up rich person who loves green balloons.

My mum and me. Aren’t we cute?!

Little bro photo-bombed the photo-booth.

My dad, my sister, and myself.

Dad looks like a Scottish man. Oh wait; he IS a Scottish man!

My favorite by far: a photo of the siblings. This pretty much sums us up rather accurately!

That was a fun time!

More on the family reunion to come!

 

You Look Like a Llama!

“You look like a coffee-drinking llama!” said my sister to me. Um, thanks? I think…

Yesterday at my family reunion, my aunt brought out a plastic bag full of Honduran souvenirs to give away. I spotted the poncho, said, “Whoa! A Poncho!” and tried it on. It is so soft and pink and it fits me so nice. Mum said I could keep it so I did.

This is me attempting to get the perfect poncho-selfie angle but only succeeding in making my forehead look ginormous.

I’m still not sure why I look like a llama though… I mean, I guess I’m wearing a poncho probably made of llama or alpaca wool.  Maybe a I could be a llama herder when I grow up!?

 

Speaking of llamas, I used to own one. His name was Oreo and he was black and white and very tall. At first, he was super cool and gave us little kisses when we put our face near him. We had a miniature donkey at the same time. His name was Brighty, and they were best friends. Brighty was very intelligent. He always watched us saddling up the horses, and decided that he wanted to saddle up Oreo. He found a tiny little rug thing and spent hours and days trying to get it onto Oreo’s back.

One day we came home to find a very self-satisfied little donkey and a very dejected looking llama. Bright had finally managed to get the thing onto Oreo. He was so proud of himself!

Unfortunately, Oreo grew up into an adult male llama and got dangerously dominant. He jumped on people!  The last straw happened one fateful day when my mum was leading him from the pasture to the barn. He charged her and knocked her down. She got a dislocated shoulder and still has problems with it to this day!

He also spit on me. I might have cried… 😦

So we sold Oreo and Brighty to a nativity scene.

That is the story of my llama.

And now I own a poncho.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things!

“It runs in the family! My dad has big pecs, my brother has big pecs, aaaandd….I’m getting big pecs!” *says my little cousin with a shy smirk of pride.

What’s Up With World Cups and Mustaches

Photo of the day which is actually from yesterday…

All right folks, here is what has been happening in my sometimes boring life.

The things which occurred the day before yesterday:

1. I watched the Chile vs. Brazil World Cup match. I was rooting for Chile because I’m going there in a month (!!!) but Brazil won (barely). This is unfortunate, but the good news is that Chile put up a really good fight! It was a fun game to watch for sure.

2. Zach got a tattoo. I don’t have a picture of it, but he showed it to me and it looks awesome!!

3. I was bored. The rest of the day was boring. Story of my life.

Yesterday:

1. I cut out mustaches for a photo-booth at my mum’s family reunion.

Here are some pictures of the gluing process:

  

Sassy Mustaches.

 

1. I made brownies for my mum’s family reunion.

2. I updated my “sexy words” document and it now encompasses almost six hundred words.

3. Winston is cute.

Coming soon:

1. My mum’s family reunion starts tomorrow and ends on Wednesday. My grandparents are celebrating their 60th anniversary!  Also, my mum has four sisters and three brothers and all of them are married and have at least four kids and some of those kids are married and have kids….Soooo my family reunions are quite large to say the least. 

2. I’ll be visiting Zach and his family this weekend! I bought the train tickets yesterday. I’m excited!

3. I’m gonna go to sleep in like ten minutes.

Here is a picture of the back of my head. Why? Well, because I can. Also because I was really proud of how this braid turned out. And not to mention the fact that I managed to get an almost non-blurry picture of the back of my head. It takes skillz peoples.

Goodnight y’all!

 

Bucket List

Before I die I want to go crazy. But first, let me take a selfie!

  mission accomplished.

Anyways… these are the top twenty things I want to do before I die (in no particular order).

1. Travel the world

             

2. Dance in the rain

3. Go skydiving

4. Learn how to surf

5. Get a pixie cut

 6. Go on tour in a band

7. Learn five languages

8. Get married

 9. Kayak down a waterfall

10. Swim with dolphins

11. Get an actual tan without burning

12. Have kids. Adopt kids. Love kids.

13. See and meet Switchfoot in concert

14. Go scuba diving in the ocean

 15. Settle down somewhere beautiful

16. Pet a wild lion

17. Go camping in the Rockies, preferably beside a mountain lake

18. Spontaneously start driving and end up in California

19. Backpack through Europe

 

20. Read the The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on a rainy day  while sitting on a window seat. Or inside of a wardrobe.

This started out as a Top Ten list, but it kept on growing.  I might make a page out of it and keep adding things to it!

What is your bucket list?

(Disclaimer: non of these photos are mine. I found them on Google)

Miss Posy

When I was eight, my family moved to a little house right outside of Atlanta, Georgia and Miss Posy was our neighbor. At 96 years young she was as sweet as Southern tea and not as fragile as she looked.  Even though she was tiny and wrinkled, she moved quickly and gracefully with just the slightest hint of a limp. She had soft white curls to compliment her bright smile. The casual clothes she always wore were ideal for gardening and for making a body feel comfortable and at ease around her.

(this is not my photo; I Googled Posies)

Lucy.

I first met Miss Posy at the garden gate. Several days after we moved in, my siblings and I were playing “Narnia” in the back yard.  As usual, I was Peter and Aslan (because I was the oldest and the wisest), my sister was either Edmond or Susan, and my little brother was Lucy. Naturally, since Lucy is a girl, we dressed our poor brother in a cute green dress that was patterned with tiny colourful flowers. He took it in stride, and played the part perfectly.

We chased each other around the yard for a while, laughing, giving dramatic monologues, and ordering each other to act out this scenario and say that line as children like to do when playing make-believe. That went on until Lucas ran up to the fence that divided our yard from the neighbor’s, put his hands on the metal rail, and peered through at the old lady who was watering her flowers and watching us with amusement.

“Hi! I’m Lucy!” my little brother beamed up at her.  She smiled back at him, amused and apparently unperturbed by the four year old boy in a dress. In a lovely Southern drawl she responded, “That’s nice! I’m Miss Posy.”

She appeared to be harmless, so my sister and I emerged from behind the tree and ran over to the fence. We made a new friend that day.

Gifts. 

Miss Posy’s house had rooms full of knickknacks, toys, and useless pretty things; trash to most, but treasures to Miss Posy and the neighbor children she befriended. Two days after we met Miss Posy, my siblings and I were in the yard pretending to be lions. Miss Posy came out of her house, smiling knowingly and holding her hands behind her back, and padded across the grass pathway between our houses.

“Children! Come on over here I have something for you,” she called to us. We ran over to the gate and she held out her hands to show us three treasures. She gave my brother a superhero action figure, to my sister she gave a tiny doll-sized china tea set, and for me she had a necklace. The pendant was a carved metal arrowhead that held a Native American currency coin. I kept that necklace for years and wore it constantly until the sock monster got tired of eating socks and decided to try eating metal instead.

Dog.

My mum takes a nap every afternoon. Unfortunately, Miss Posy had a dog; a little yappy mutt that looked like a mop. And every afternoon during mum’s nap time an old man would come out with a wheelbarrow to weed Miss Posy’s garden and clean up her yard. Miss Posy’s dog would yap at him incessantly. After several weeks of not sleeping during nap time, mum got pissed. One day she was at her wits end and she prayed that God would “make that mutt shut up!”

The next day, we saw the little dog dead in the wheelbarrow and the old man was digging a hole.

We all felt sad for Miss Posy, but mum said, “Be careful what you ask for, cause God just might answer your prayers!”

Cat.

In the Spring the trees bloomed and the birds began to nest. A robin couple built a home in the tangled branches of a bush in our front yard. Mrs. Robin laid four beautiful blue eggs in that tiny nest. Mr. and Mrs. Robin would take turns sitting on the eggs and my family would watch the changing of the guards from our living room window. Soon the couple started bringing back worms and we peaked into the bush to discover four tiny little fuzz-balls.

Miss Posy was a crazy cat lady. She had at least five of them and they ruled over her house, her yard, and her neighbor’s yard. One day we heard a royal ruckus in the front yard. We ran outside to see a black cat tangled in Mr. and Mrs. Robin’s bush and millions of birds swooping and dive-bombing the offender, screaming at it to leave now and never come back!

Mum promptly joined the screaming birds and yelled at the top of her lungs, running at that cat and waving her arms like a windmill. She scared it so much that it finally managed to free itself of the bush and went streaking across the yard towards Miss Posy’s house.  By that time, Miss Posy had heard the noise and was making her way over. When she saw what her cat had been up to, she grew livid! As the cat ran past her she made a swipe at it, missed, and yelled, “Yeah you better run you devil!” She came half-running over and we insured that the babies were unharmed. They were fine, but Mr. and Mrs. Robin were understandably agitated. Miss Posy apologized to us and the birds for the disturbance. A few days later, she informed us that she had locked her cats in the basement until the babies took wing.

I sort of felt sorry for the cats, until that proud day when I watched from the window as Mr. and Mrs. Robin taught the juniors how to fly.

chair.

I went inside of Miss Posy’s house once, shortly before we moved again to be closer to Dad’s work. One blisteringly hot afternoon the old lady invited my mum and three siblings over for tea and a chat. The living room was small and cozy, and had a wealth of random things hanging on the red walls, cluttering wooden shelves, and sitting on the carpeted floor. Along the wall was a long sofa with a quilt hung over the back. The room smelled of flowers and dust, and three cats could be seen in hiding the shadows and stalking haughtily between the furniture. But perhaps the most prominent feature of the room was a red armchair positioned across from the sofa and in front of a large window draped in red curtains. The effect was that most of the room was dimmed in a friendly shadow, but the armchair was illuminated by the light that streamed in through the window.

I took all of this in as Miss Posy led us into the room and invited us to sit on the sofa. She brewed the tea and settled into the red chair, swinging her legs up over the right arm and resting her back against the left. Miss Posy and Mum talked about this and that while we sipped tea and listened. I don’t remember specifically what the conversation consisted of, but I do know that I saw an old Southern lady with a young heart and I wanted to be like that when I grow old.

red

People’s lives are like lines that cross and intertwine. Some lines touch at a point and never meet again, sometimes they cross and intersect several times. Occasionally, lines will meet and run along together or two will encircle each other until the end.  But sometimes the most precious memories come from the lines that run together for a little while and then drift apart.

Every person you encounter plays a small role in making you who you are. Some play a bigger role than others, but the special ones leave a lasting impact with a word, a smile, or five precious memories of make-believe, treasures, life-lessons, a cat, and a red armchair.

Occasionally I associate people with colours.  Maybe it’s because of her warm spirit, her name, or maybe it’s the armchair, but Miss Posy’s colour is red.