recap part 2: sacramento

The weekend following the military ball, I flew up to Sacramento.  And I can honestly tell you that it was one of the best weekends I have. ever. had.

Here are some of the highlights:

Thursday:

--The airport.

The flight was the easiest of my life: one solid hour.  An hour, people!  It was glorious.

I was the first off of the plane, my bags popped right out in baggage claim and my family was right there to hug me. :) I was a happy camper sitting in my mom’s passenger seat while her and I and two of my siblings (Amberly and Brett) caught up—and with no shortage of inside jokes present.

Friday:

--Early rising.

I couldn’t sleep and was up at 6:30am for no apparent reason.  So I bundled up and went outside to breathe some clean, sacramentan air and watched the sky swirl with all kinds of pinks and blues as the sun came up.  It was perfectly breath-taking and I couldn’t imagine a better way to start the weekend.  Oh, yeah, and Ethan was asleep in my brother's room upstairs and I came inside to be greeted by a good morning hug and kiss. :) Sheer perfection.

--Apple Hill with my mom and little sister, Amberly.

To get there, you have to drive through the hills, all kinds of trees pressed up on either side of you.  And when you arrive, oh, it’s just glorious.  Little apple farms with markets selling fresh apples and apple pies and apple donuts and apple wine and all kinds of fresh fruit and fresh honey…and that’s just the food!  I can barely even begin to tell you about the vendors where they sell all kinds of homemade hats and scarves and woodworks and jewelry and paintings and…I could go on forever.  It’s pretty close to heaven.

So we drove through the hills, Hillsong playing on the car stereo.  And we stopped at different farms.  And ate tri-tip sandwiches.  And I bought apple donuts.  And apple-blackberry wine.  And root beer fudge (yes, it tasted like root beer and yes, it was delicious).  And the 3 of us girls talked and talked and talked.  It was. the perfect. day.

The rest of Friday looked like:

--My mom French-braiding my hair. :) Isn't there just something about your mom doing your hair?

--A sushi date with my best friend, Kate, followed by Starbucks and watching my brother, Kyle's, flag football game.

--Keeping best friend tradition with Kate: smoking cigars at this park overlooking the city while talking about all the deep things of life.  And boy, did we talk—about how we had changed since the other times we had sat up there. About old songs and who they made us think of.  About old loves and new ones and about friends and life.  We overlooked the city lights and swung on the swings and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was 16 again—alive and free.

Saturday:

--Coffee break.

I woke up early to get coffee with one of my best friends, Frank. We only had an hour, but it was an hour that we made the best of.  We caught up on life and talked about old times…where our friendship had come from and where we see it going.  Where we both were a year ago and how much has changed and where we’d like to see ourselves in the future.

Talks like that with friends like Frank and Kate reminded me why I love them.  They always make me look back and appreciate where I’ve come from, but reassure me that we are all still going places and no matter where those places are, we’ll go together—whether that’s from right next door or 400 miles apart. :)

--Grandpa and Grandma’s house.

I realize now that I have taken so much time with my grandparents for granted.  But not this time—certainly not.

I sat with them in front of the bay window, overlooking the street.  My grandpa’s feet were propped up and I sipped the delicious apple cider my grandma brought me, the sun on my shoulders.  And that moment was so dang beautiful, I begged myself to bottle up each drop—to take that moment and find a way to imprint its outline into my mind so that I will never forget.

And sitting there in the warm October sunlight, we caught up on things.  I told my grandma about my consideration of pursuing a degree on Global Studies and she asked me if I have to learn another language for that.  I told her that yes, I am required to be able to speak and write in a second language and that I’m currently taking French.  In response, my grandpa yelled, in his big, grandpa-like voice, for my grandma to go get the record set underneath their bed.  She quickly scurried back to their bedroom to grab what he was talking about—an old record set on how to learn German. :)  My grandpa said he found it at a garage sale and had it for years…and that early Saturday afternoon, they passed it onto me.

I’m not sure I will ever get a chance to use it.  But it’s old and vintage and it’s propped next to my bedside because it’s the most thoughtful gift.  I know I will keep that record set forever.

--Crepe date with grandma.

My grandpa wore out fairly quickly and went to take a nap, so my grandma and I went on a lunch date.  We sat outside this European café amidst the cool autumn air.  And over coffee and lunch crepes, my grandma told me stories.  She told me about when her family came over on a boat from England.  About when she lived and worked in New York.  About growing up and about how she dreamt of getting a college education.  She told me how she was too young to get married, but oh-so-smitten with my first grandfather.  She told me about the ending of her marriage to him and the guys she dated before meeting my second grandfather.  She told me about how he was different from every other man she dated and how he loved her children just as much as she did.

She told me a lot of things that I also told myself I can’t forget.  I never appreciated the history of my family before.  Not even close to the way I do now.  But I want to know all of it and remember.  I want to soak it up like a sponge and be able to tell my children and grandchildren about the legacy of those that lived before them.  About the ones I knew and loved so dearly.  I want that history to be eternal.  Set in stone and carried on for as many generations as humanly possible.

Even after our crepe date was over, my grandma and I sat in her car in front of my family’s house and talked and talked.  She told me how proud she is of me and how she’s so happy that I’m getting to do all the things she always dreamed about. And the craziest part of it all was how she harbored no bitterness or resentment—just joy for me and a desire to see me succeed in life.  I’m truly blessed with an amazing grandmother.

And the rest of my Saturday followed as such:

--Kate coming over to share my apple donuts and apple wine over board games and lots of laughs.
--Recording this version of "O, Holy Night" with my mom, aunt and cousin, Sara, in my cousin, Nathan’s, recording studio.
--Talking with my mom in the car for a long time.
--Sitting by the fire and roasting marshmallows with my mom, brother Brett and sister Amberly.

***

I keep re-playing that weekend over and over in my mind.  I already wrote it down in my journal, but I had to write it again because it was one of those trips where I was reminded just how sweet and good and lovely life can be.  I certainly can’t even begin to count all the blessings in my life.  But if I were to try, I think it would definitely start with family greetings at the airport and talks with grandparents in their warm living room.  And maybe also…some apple donuts. :)