Drink Wine & Enjoy The View

Friday:

I finally got to see Dakota since she left in August. It's weird to see each one of your friends one week at a time. Swag, Fiona and Dakota. Every time we've done pretty much the same thing. We've gone out to eat and went to Walmart. It's so cute to see how different it is though. If that makes any sense. It's hard to explain. Swag is the type of person that you do a bunch of activities with. Like going to the Dixie, Steam n' Craft show, Walmart and seeing a movie. Fiona is the type of person that you can sit with and do nothing. Yes, we went out to eat but most of the time we were spilling our guts out. Whether that was laughing, crying or talking about whatever. We would talk for a few minutes and then be silent. DL is the type of person that you can do either of those things with. There will also be a lot of laughter. We went to the Dixie and talked about college and our classes, We went to Walmart and almost bought a fish. It was actually kind of depressing. The fish didn't look very happy. Not that most fish look happy. But then we realized that people were potentially throwing fish in the trashcan. We know that because the the writing on the trashcan told us not to. We bought some food and then went back to DL's house. Her brother wanted to make some cinnamon rolls which seemed really random. I can't complain because who doesn't want cinnamon rolls? The only time I really got to eat cinnamon rolls as a child was at Christmas. They didn't taste like my mom made them. Normally that's kind of an insult. Not this time though. I realized what my mom was doing. My mom would bake them longer than you were supposed to. So the cinnamon rolls would harder than they were supposed to be. She would also use less frosting. She would do this so we wouldn't want them any other time of the year. Good job mom. You had us fooled for years. I now know how they are supposed to taste now.
I also learned never to drink out of a mug that says, 'Mexican Coffee Mug'. Good job DL.
After that we asked each other deep questions. It was also filmed so we'll have it forever. If you've never done something like that I recommend it. I feel closer to DL now that we've asked these questions. It's a good thing to do with your friends. After that Because we didn't plan well DL had to drive me to my car. It was nice to listen to music and take in the moment.
It was a little easier to say goodbye. Much better than the first two. I guess that's because it's almost Thanksgiving and we'll all get to be together again. Oh my goodness I can't wait.

Saturday:

Friday nights are normally not my kind of night. I stay up way to late and then I get emotional. I really should just go to bed a eight. I had to do homework though and I procrastinate. Anyway the plan for Saturday was to ditch school and go to Virginia. I needed to get away and see my family. The plan was to see my cousin's last football game of the season. Then it got canceled because it was going to rain. I'm not gonna lie I did cry. I love Virginia and I wanted to go so badly. I guess my family saw how upset I was and told me that we would go anyway. The drive there was hilarious. My dad is an insane driver. Aren't all dads? We got there alive and saw my family. There is something so amazing about being around children. They are full of life and energy. They do not get tired or stop. Nothing like the average college student. My little cousin Megan proceeded to show me a bunch of pictures she photo shopped herself in. One of which she was riding a taco. That kid is such a ham. I can't make this stuff up. 

My other cousin's soccer game ended up not being canceled so we were able to go. It was cloudy, freezing and windy. I gladly watched from the car and journaled. After the game we went to a diner that had the best food. We talked about what we were going to do for my birthday and black Friday shopping. For some reason my aunt wants me to come? I don't know if I will have any part of that though. I like sleep and I hate shopping. After we ate it was time to say goodbye and go home. 

We ended up going to Shenandoah National Park. Did it prolong the trip another three hours? Yep. Was it worth it? Yes. We drove on the Skyline View which was perfect. Dad wanted to get home and we passed the first view spot. We ended up turning around because we didn't pay twenty dollars to drive through everything. 

When we got to the spot my mom was like, 'we need to get a picture.' So my mom and I took a few pictures and my dad is laughing at us. 

"Do you think you want to get some pictures with the scenic view?"

We had been taking the pictures of ourselves with the cars in the background and not the view. We started busting out laughing. It would have been hilarious to look back at those pictures later. 

Am I the only one who is cold?

After that we kept driving through and capturing all the moments. I have no idea how many pictures I took. Here's some of them though...

I know this is creepy but I have to talk about this couple. They were truly the type of couple you read about in books. Or at least I want my spouse and I to be like them. They were riding on this nice motorcycle and clearly had been sitting their for a while. They didn't care that there were a bunch of people around them. The guy had his arm around his girlfriend or wife. They had this nice bottle of wine and plastic cups. They also had cheese and grapes. It was clear that they were going to stay there for a while. It was precious to see. 

That was my God moment. 

I can't remember the last time that I truly rested. I can't remember the last time I sat down and truly enjoyed what I ate. I can't remember the last time that I sat somewhere for more than an hour to take the view in. I can't remember the last time I felt God in the moments of insanity. I can't remember the last time that I felt whole.

I saw the these people who were truly enjoying life. These people who were doing things that I should be doing. Maybe their life is insane and not perfect like I imagined it to be. I'm sure they don't drink wine and hug each other everyday. If they do that is amazing. In that moment it was like God was saying, "Why don't you do that sometimes? Can you just rest for a minute? Can you stop trying to figure out whether or not you are doing everything right? You're okay." In this season of life my relationship of God has been shaken. It's been damaged but not broken. That was the best thing God could ever say to me. God wants us to drink the wine, eat the cheese and enjoy the view. He did not create this beautiful earth to only have us suffer. When we are sad or upset it only makes these views ten times prettier. 

Amen. 

DFTBA

-AB

You have to listen to this song while in Virginia. It's a rule.