Eye Opener

Can I just say that I had an absolutely amazing Labor Day weekend?? There were a lot of last minute changes in plans in many different ways, but I am really really glad things worked out the way that they did.
I felt like a real grown-up for a lot of the parts of the weekend. I was really nervous about flying out of Columbia...a) had no clue where the airport was b) I was taking myself to and from the airport and parking in long term parking for the first time c) I'm not a big fan of small airports and let me tell you...Columbia is a pretty small one. Rest assured, I found the airport (which is only 10 minutes away, note to self for next time) and everything went smoothly. I was greeted at the airport by the lovely Meredith and then we were off to stay at my new friend Becca's house! We got to eat some life changing cake compliments of Becca's mom...and wow, my life definitely changed!!! I'm not even really a cake eater, but this cake was delicious and I could definitely go for some more right now! The next day we traveled up to Fort Weezy for Alyssa and Rob's wedding which was beautiful in every single way, with the bride being the most beautiful of course =)

My Ft. Weezy travel pals and I with the beautiful bride

Sunday was a huge reunion for me. My dad and I went to dinner with a family we used to be really close with. I hadn't seen them in such a long time, and man do I miss them. I'm pretty much guaranteed a gigantic laugh fest whenever we get together, and this time was no exception.Here's Kate crawling under the table so that she wouldn't have to make people get up to let her get out. This is a prime example of why I love her :)

After I got home, I ventured over to my adopted family's house for the usual holiday weekend festivities. I am so glad that the Dants moved across the street 13ish years ago. I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like without them.

This weekend really opened my eyes up. I just felt so at home and welcome at my friend's places and with my friends. My family is no where near perfect (not that any family is) but this weekend I felt like I was a burden to them. I felt like it was my fault that there were so many hassles for them and their mini-vacay. Being around my friends and their families made me even more aware of this. I realized that parents/families actually show that they miss their kids when they're away and want to spend time with them. I didn't even feel like my family wanted to see me. I'm sure if they read this, they'd get mad or say I'm crazy or something. They just don't/didn't really show it if they did miss me or wanted to spend time with me. It's not like this is a new thing but it really became apparent this weekend to me.

But like I said earlier, I'm really happy with the way things worked out. I couldn't imagine a better Labor Day weekend! Except for maybe next year's :)