Good Things

I've only been here three days, and this has already been one of my best trips home ever. On Friday I had lunch with my mom, Grandma, aunt (Grandma's sister), cousin, and her kids. And Shannon. It was fun, and good because I hardly ever get to see my Aunt Deanna or my cousin and her kids.

Friday night was the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, for which Shannon and I painted ourselves green (to fit in with our team's Wizard of Oz theme) and got a lot of strange looks. It was my first Relay; I've never been in town for one before, and it's encouraging to see so many people gathered together to take action for a good cause.

On Saturday, Alex and Allison--kids I grew up with--got married. I'm so glad I was in town and able to go. It was lovely, and they look very happy. And I'm happy for them.

After the wedding, Mom and I went to see Martina McBride in concert. It was freaking fantastic. Her set was great, and then she came out for an encore and sang "Don't Stop Believing" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." And Mom was impressed. So all in all, a success. Especially since I didn't have to deck the drunk girl sitting in the row behind us.

Today we went to the Baileys' house for the girls' study group on Captivating. There were twelve of us there, which was cool, and the discussion was good. I'm sad that I won't be there for the rest of the study, but the girls have agreed to let me hang out with them virtually. They even joked about setting up a podcast.

I feel like no one is trying to pressure me or guilt me into doing anything or seeing anyone that I don't want to do or see; I feel like this could really turn into a vacation in a way that has only happened a couple of other times since I've been in the Marine Corps. It's a nice feeling of being able to breathe.