Rest Your Head

Rest in peace, Nate Fruin. 22 is much too young to die. Although I didn't know you well, the shear number of loving posts on my Newsfeed prove to me that you were loving to and loved by many wonderful people. Prayers of comfort to your friends and family.

Jail Bird (Feb 17)

• Happy Birthday to my brother, Collin! 18!
• This morning, on my way to church, I saw a police car headed towards the Washtenaw County Jail. There was a man in the backseat, looking out the window. All I could think (and the thought that resurfaced throughout the day) was, "I'm going to church and he's going to jail." Wow. And my other thought? "What could we have done in the last 18-25 years to prevent this from happening?" It was a very poignant thought to have at 7:45 on a Sunday morning.

Love Like Valentine

• Happy Valentine's Day!
• We had a little celebration at school today - the cutest part was the kids thanking each other when they found out who gave them their cards. We only told them once to do it! They either remembered very well or said it because they were truly grateful (or, at least polite). So cute. I also got a yummy box of chocolates from one of my favorite little guys - he calls me "Eh-moo" :)
• I got a fabulous package of chocolates, note paper (shaped like a dress!) and an adorable mug from Dad and Barbara :)
• I made/ate Bobby's cake + guacamole, enjoyed my chocolates and watched my first episode of Downton Abbey tonight. I could have done a lot of other things, but I'll do those later :)

Altered Course

• It's amazing to me how my life can be on such a different course than everyone else, all while we are occupying the same space in time. It's crazy how people can be suffering from awful health problems, terrible loss or unthinkable abuse tonight. Or how other people are cuddling with their spouses (instead of their cat...), putting their children to bed, or planning their upcoming wedding tonight. This is, of course, not the first time I've had this thought. It has been specifically triggered by the fact that Abby is leaving to return to Korea tomorrow. It's amazing to me that she is starting a new adventure when all I'll be doing tomorrow is going to work. Yes, I love my job and I'm at a great place in my life right now - and things could totally be worse. But I keep imagining an alternate reality where I am also heading back to what feels like a second home to me now...and I get feelings of wonder and happiness that I'm not currently feeling. Going back to friends in Korea, to places I've never been and places I know well, to food I miss, to a lifestyle that was consistently stressful but constantly adventurous...that would be amazing. I never thought I would really want to go back to Korea - I hope to travel and live in a lot of different places. But hanging out with Abby as she prepares to head back has made me feel completely differently - I think it would be fabulous! It would also be easy, but in the best ways. It would be familiar but I could change things about my experience, do things I didn't get a chance to, and waste less time missing home. Ahhhh I want to board that plane with her tomorrow! However, I definitely can't, so I will have to live with keeping up with her blog and living through her experiences :)

Better Now, Darling?

• PP, Carlee, Jeanette, a cookie and cereal for dinner, snow outside, Miss Congeniality and several Friends episodes from season 9 made me feel a lot better tonight. (Work was good but my conversation with DTE was not.) Oh and I also finished cleaning my dishes! It's been a long time since that part of my counter was clear. And I'd forgotten how funny the Friends episodes I watched were :) And I'm excited to listen to the new music I put on my iPod, as well as the NPR podcasts I downloaded - I totally didn't know you could do that!
• There is a little boy at work, in the older toddler room (so he's 3), who runs up to me with a big grin on his face every time he sees me on the playground. He's one of my favorite kids so I love seeing him too :)

Anniversary Song

• Wow...one year ago today I was flying towards my greatest adventure thus far. In some ways, I can't believe it's been that long - my experiences in Korea seem so recent. And at the same time, I can believe it's been that long - it feels like another lifetime that I was there. I am constantly grateful that I kept up with my blog the whole time I was there...I will be reading and rereading Korea posts a LOT over the next few months. And looking at pictures. And reliving memories. Yes, I'm preparing for 6 months of reminiscing...my friends and anyone I see regularly should too.
• Starting as the core associate teacher in the Evergreen room was not a bad way to avoid being sad today :) It was fun being in charge at the end of the day, even though it was only for 45 minutes. It was nice to have projects to work on during my non-contact time. And it was nice to be addressed directly by the parents (though I will need to think of more comments about their kids and small talk to use with them). I don't think I'll really feel the difference for a few weeks, since I've been in Evergreen for up to 7 or 8 school days before now.
• I also had dinner with Bianca and Lindsay, to try out a new Korean restaurant, catch up and celebrate our 1-year anniversary. The food was good and it was nice to see TaLK people today :)
• Plus, I got to see Sarah W. as I walked to dance, Nikki and Jayme at dance (of course) and Dave as I wandered around waiting for my bus! Very nice surprises.
• Also, I'm eating Nutella and pretzels and watching Grey's to celebrate World Nutella Day :)

Full Retreat

• I've been at the Wesley Statewide retreat this weekend and it's just been great :) I was definitely sad when Mandy (and Katie) told me they weren't going to be there :( But almost as soon as I walked in, I realized that I was surrounded by people I knew or people who knew people I knew. This helped me feel so much more comfortable introducing myself to others. I met lots of great people, especially from WMU and MSU, and I finally met Lisa Batten (the person in charge of WMU Wesley), who basically knows all of "my" camp people. I got to hang out with Kaitlyn and Keeley, who were in 8th grade the last time I spent a significant amount of time with them (they are pretty fantastic humans now :)). I got to hang out and get closer with UM Wesley friends - we played lots of Fluxx and Euchre, baked cookies, went to Meijer, had deep talks and made each other laugh. We watched Hercules and, after I told everyone that my favorite line (1:55-2:07) was at the end of the movie, they all made sure I didn't miss it :) Plus, tonight we had the place to ourselves! Literally, everyone else went home (even the CMU people - who were hosting us), so we just made ourselves comfortable! We got all the good places for sleeping and could be crazy all we wanted :) It has been a wonderful weekend...plus it makes me ridiculously excited for BKC! (I definitely woke up with morning and just wanted a Brophy hug :))
• We also had a very interesting trip to a local Indian museum. The museum was very well-done and had a lot of information about the tribe that lives in this area. The guide was very knowledgeable but it was also clear that he inherited his family's/ancestor's anger towards white people. It was frustrating to hear his tones (and sometimes words) imply that I personally made bad assumptions about his people, knew nothing about their history and was somehow responsible for the actions of the 18th and 19th century white men and government. For example, he made a point to tell us about the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which was the first time that Indians were allowed to vote. Yeah, that sucks - but OH HEY women only got the right to vote 4 years earlier. It was also very interesting to note the changes in the exhibits as they related to the information that was being relayed and the feelings we should have been having. At the beginning of the tour, we learned all about the history and daily workings of the tribe. The exhibit was colorful, open and used many different mediums to create the outdoor feel, as well as to communicate the information. As we moved into the part of their history that was influenced by Europeans, the halls/passages became more narrow, the walls formed more corners, the color of the walls was a dull brown, and exhibits were mostly pictures and paintings. It was clear (to me, and to others to whom I explained these details) that they wanted us to feel trapped, overwhelmed and anxious, as they told this part of their story. (Thanks for knowing to look for that stuff, Carlee!) It was a well-done museum for sure.