T-28 Days

Well my blog plan didn't map out as I had hoped that it would. My time in Amarillo has been a whirlwind of unexciting, stressful events that I didn't feel the need to blog about. I've done the "exciting" stuff here in Amarillo but mostly, I've worked, gone out to bars, and spent some lovely days with close friends and my family (sister, mainly) since I have been here. In all honesty, I get this and the excitement of visiting when I come for a week vacation. After an unexpected trip to Phoenix, after spending a WONDERFUL week in Lake Tahoe with my Cali-Sister, I decided that I need to return back to my home, Phoenix. The title is my count down of the days until my belongings are back in Phoenix. I will be returning after that to continue working until they find a replacement for me at the school. The latest that I will stay in Amarillo is May. I hope everyday that the perfect candidate will get approved and hired so that I can return home sooner rather than later! The last few weeks in Amarillo have had some positive changes for me, and I look forward to taking those habits back to Phoenix with me. To catch you up, I'll highlight the last year:

* I was lucky enough to see my niece, nephew, and BFF's baby girl grow! The three of these babies are so important to me and they have changed so very much over the last year. My niece and nephew are so wonderfully athletic (taking after their momma and daddy's!). I've been able to attend their games and root them on. It is SO much fun watching them play and see their development. They are going to be wonderful athletes. I've also had the opportunity to see how they behave as siblings. They are so close. I love it! My BFF's daughter, M, was not even crawling when I moved here. Now, she is moving ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! She is growing like a weed, and loves her "Aunt Kiki". (I put that in quotes, because I'm the only name that she has said!) I will miss these little people so much. Thank goodness for Skype!!!!

* I love living near my sisters. Either one of them. They both can drive me crazy, but I am so fortunate to have a strong bond with them. I believe that living near my sister here has given her the strength she needed to stand up for herself. I hope that she keeps this up, and it wasn't just because she had a sister near. I'll miss her so much. I've spent almost every Sunday with her and her family. I've dearly called it "Sister Sunday". I will miss them a lot.

* I don't know what to say about my BFFF's. I love them and I have had such a wonderful time living near them. When I told them I was moving, they equally responded with, yeah, we figured this was coming. They know me all too well. Life gave me two additional sisters and I wish I could steal them away from this town...I understand they are rooted much deeper than I am though. I will be back for an upcoming wedding AND perhaps an arrival to the family (fingers crossed).

* I didn't develop or improve on the relationship with my mom or my dad while living here. I had hoped to, but sometimes things are how they are for a reason. I'm ok with our relationship, and understand that it will always be like it is, no matter how close or far I am from them.

* I haven't had the best of luck with guys I've dated here, but boy, oh, boy, I have had fun!

* I will always LOVE my job here and love the people that I worked with. I have made many lifelong friends through Milan. I have also been shown that I love teaching and will continue teaching once I arrive back in Phoenix! As they say, "I fell out of the sky and into their office", but I think that the position they posted fell out of the sky!

* I have made so many new friends! I have them for everything. My Lindsay is an equal happy/optimistic/earthy/natural lady like I am. I didn't think that there would be another like me in Amarillo, but she is. From the day she interviewed me, I knew that we would get along. I will always have a place in my life for a friend like her! I have had drinking buddies, too many to count! They have added some interesting stories to my collection. Perhaps, when I return to visit, they will come out and enjoy a drink/song/dance/Buck Hunter game/smoke/shuffleboard with me. And in the last month, I have a gym buddy, Lizzy, who I hope will continue to motivate me to go to the gym, even when I don't want to....and I will do the same for her as well!

* The last month here, Ash had a back injury and is currently paralyzed on his hind end. We are going through medicinal and physical therapy with the hopes that he will regain use of his legs. If he doesn't, he will have a neat little cart! I'm staying positive....but I still blame Amarillo... Haha...in reality, the injury was not the fault of this city though!

I was meant to come back to Amarillo for several reasons: the strength that I have built in my old relationships, the new bonds that I have made, the personal growth that I could not have had otherwise, the challenge of life on my own, and the realization that this is always going to be the town I went to school in, but it will never be my home. My home is surrounded by mountains, is warm year-round, doesn't have a daily wind factor, and is on par with my lifestyle (vegan, recycle, landscape, technology, etc). Although I love things in Amarillo, I LOVE PHOENIX ~ as a whole. I am going there.