My Weekends…

Time is flying by and at a standstill all at the same time.  September is halfway over.  I have made the trip to Greenville six times since the beginning of August.  Most weeks start with a countdown for the weekend or when I get to see Trent again.  I have to really try hard not to focus on it and live in the moment or my weeks go slow.

This weekend will be the first time since school started that I won’t make the trip to Greenville.  My cousin is getting married and as much as I hate to miss Trent’s game, I am also looking forward to a weekend without traveling and a Sunday nap while watching NFL football.  Those are my favorite kind of naps!

I have discovered that I like flying to visit Trent much better than driving.  I am getting use to the 7.5 hour drive, but I also like relaxing and reading while I am in flight or hanging out and reading on my layovers.  With traveling and down time I have read four books in the last month.  I am more obsessed with reading than I have ever been and am knocking out books from my summer reading list left and right! 

Traveling, by plane or car comes along with its fair share of problems.  A couple of weeks ago I got stuck over night in Chicago because of weather delays and missed flights.  Thank goodness for Jamie and Brian and their Marriot rewards.  It was a nice refresher to shower and sleep (even if only a few hours) before I got back to the airport early the next morning.

Last weekend’s travel snafu was a flat tire.  I am very thankful that it happened fifteen minutes into the trip, that I did not blow the tire and that there was an auto shop across the highway from where I stopped to examine my tire.  Praise the Lord.  Sure enough there was a rusty old bolt in my tire.  After a twenty five minute delay I was back on my way and arrived safe and sound about 11:30.

Monica and Tyler also came down this weekend to visit Kirsten and check out the Panthers in action. (They are now 2-0 on the season!)  It was fun to hang out with them.  The five of us went bowling Saturday night and ate breakfast together Sunday morning.  I think Trent and Kirsten were both very happy that they came.

 

I have very happily spent the last two evening at home.  Sometimes I feel like I am always running around.  It has been nice to catch up on some cleaning and relaxing!  Tomorrow night is the annual Big Brother Finale party at Jamie’s.  Valentino’s Pizza and Fro Yo, here I come!

{The Launes}

9.11

9.11 is a day that sticks in every American’s mind who was alive in 2001.  There are countless Facebook posts recounting where people were when the first and second planes crashed into the World Trade Centers.  This past summer, by chance, I was able to visit the 9-11 memorial.  It was my first time in New York City and a very cool experience.  It was a chilly, rainy day and the mood was quite somber.  As I looked at the names around the memorial I tried to picture them.  Did they work in the World Trade Center?  Were they a firefighter?  Were they on the airplane?  It is an incredible memorial and wonderful tribute.

With each passing year, the memories remain very vivid to me.  As a teacher, I think it is important to commemorate the day, but it has become more difficult as my six and seven year old first graders were not even alive when this happened.  Part of me wants to protect them from all the scary things in the world, but at the same time, if we do not share it, then before too long it is just going to be another page in a history book.  I was excited to share some of my pictures from this summer with them today.  While they may not understand what happened on that day in 2001, I do want them to know about it.  I want them to be proud to be an American, thankful to live in this country and for the freedoms that they have.  Hopefully, with each passing year they will continue to learn about this and make our country a better place.

A new beginning…Looking up at the new One World Trade Center on a rainy New York Day.

I still love this State Farm commercial from the 10 year anniversary…

God Bless America…

{The Launes}