Pseudo-mom

A lot has happened in the past month and a half.
Father's Day weekend we got a surprise visit from my 3 older siblings. My oldest sister flew out (with her 5 month old daughter) from Illinois! My younger siblings, my dad, and I had never seen the baby before, so it was an awesome weekend (even though I was kicked out of my room to accommodate my siblings). My brother came with his wife (who I found out is pregnant, the baby is due Dec 22nd, so the day after I get back from Jordan) and daughter from Spokane. And my other sister came with her husband from Rexburg, ID. It was the first time all of us kids were together in almost 2 years.

I have spent the past 1.5 weeks playing 'mom'. Yeah, I seriously have. My mother flew out to Illinois to help my sister. My sister's youngest (the 5-month old) was in the hospital and her 3 other kids got sick and her husband is in CA working. Talk about being overwhelmed, so what else could my mom do? Her daughter needed her help and her grandbabies were sick, so she left me in charge of my 3 younger siblings and went where she was needed. My dad is gone most of the day, so it really was just me and the kids. The "kids" are twin, 14-yr old boys and an 11-going-on-27-yr old sister. Doesn't seem to bad right? Well, pretty much I'm their chauffeur and have to run interference and make sure they don't kill or maim each other. Did I mention that all 3 of them are the same size as me? It was a lot easier to watch them 5 years ago, when they were significantly smaller.
Anyway, things really haven't been so bad. We've gotten along pretty well. Just some problems with name-calling. One kid had to go to the doctor, so I had to set up and take him to an appointment and then get a prescription filled (that was a scary/unnerving experience). We've even gone to the movies and went out to the library and had a picnic. My sister is on a swim team, so I've had to drive her to her practices at 8:15am, and go to a couple of her meets (one was at 7:30am on a SATURDAY).
Really, things could've been a lot worse, but I definitely will be feeling relief when mom comes home tomorrow.   

Summer in Kennewick

I've been back in K-Town for almost 2 months....as wonderful as it is, I'm starting to get antsy. I haven't been able to find a job and am just trying to keep myself busy, which is easier said than done. My three younger siblings have gotten out of school for the summer, so we'll see how things turn out.....my mom and I are trying to come up with ways to preserve our sanity (personally, I don't know how we'll survive). One of my brothers is already saying 'I can't wait until you leave'. I act like it doesn't bug me, but honestly, every time he says that it hurts, it hurts a lot.

Had I stayed in Provo, I would've had a job and I would've been with my friends. It makes me a little frustrated when I think about that. However, there is one good thing that has come from me not finding a job. I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit family I haven't seen in several years. I went to Kent, WA to see one of my cousins perform in one of the lead roles of 'Little Shop of Horrors", she's now graduated and is in the Army ROTC at University of Portland. I'm so proud of her, I don't think I ever told her that, but I really am. We used to be really close, but (courtesy of my stupidity) we grew apart.

I also got to go down to Salem, OR for a weekend and spent it with my Yaya and Pappy. I haven't seen them since my freshman year of college, and I don't know when I'll get to see them again. Yaya's health is deteriorating and anytime I get to spend with her and Pappy is special. I really want them to be there when I get married, but since that isn't going to be anytime in the near future, there's a good chance that they won't be. Anyway, we went to Lincoln City, a town on the Oregon Coast, and went out to the ocean. Pappy loves the ocean, he served in the Coast Guard for 21.5 years. Yaya wasn't feeling good and stayed in the car, but Pappy and I went out and just watched the ocean for a little while. We didn't really talk, but that time watching the ocean, meant just as much if not more than spending an hour talking with Pappy. It was stormy that day, and I loved just watching the water, I can't even explain it, but I was just staring, completely mesmerized by the awesome power of the water. It was so powerful, but a bit frightening. I've decided I want to live near the water, not on the coast, but maybe an hour or two away.

I really am glad to be home, seriously I am. It just is a hard transition, one I don't really like. But, as hard and painful as its been, there has been some good, and that is what I need to focus on.

Sophmore Year....it's coming to an end

The past 8 months have seriously been crazy! And now it's coming to a peak, then will crash after April 16th. Yup, the end of my sophmore year at college is almost over. Finals start April 14th, and I'm going to be done with them by the 16th. Am I scared? Heck Yes! There's so many things I wanted to do, but I didn't get done. It is a little frustrating, but, oh well.
First day of stress before finals: April 10th- I've got my speaking interview with Dr. Khaled, from the Qasid Institute, where I will be studying this fall (did I mention that it's in Amman, Jordan?) He will give a recommendation to Dil (the program director), as to which classes I should take. Pretty much, I'm trying not to think about it that much, since I'll just freak myself out. Every other major speaking interview I've had, I've frozen up on, my mind has gone completely blank, and I'm nervous that this time won't be any different.
Second day of Stress: April 14th, I'm going to take one of my finals, and turn in another one. I know I shouldn't be worried, but I am.
Peak of Stress: April 16th- My two hardest finals are on the same day, with an hour in between them. My Modern Middle East History final is from 7-10am, then Arabic 202 is from 11-2, but, after that I'll be done with finals. I'll just be packing, working, and taking stuff to a storage unit. April 21st is when I'm going back to Kennewick. I haven't lived there in almost 2 years. It is kind of surreal to think about moving back there.

Living out here on my own has been great. I love it at school, I love my friends here, I even love my classes (though I may curse them at times), but, it's time to go home. It's time to go back to K-Town and spend time with my family before I leave on my biggest and greatest adventure yet.....Amman, Jordan. When I come back, things are going to be different, I'm going to be different, so I'm going to enjoy the time I have left (until I leave) with my family.

For now, I'm finishing finals, then, I'll be saying 'goodbye' for at least 8 months to some of my best friends, and then, I'll on the road, heading home.