Homecoming And Coming Back Home

Alright, so switching gears from the “sidewalk” post… (so weird, right?;) now for something a little warmer & a little less synical. Homecoming! Family! Lovin!

So first let me just back up WAY far & say that as excited as I was to go home, there is nothing more intimidating than being a first-timer in Penn Station, alone, with a suitcase at least ¾ the size of your body. And did I mention alone. Even though I had spent a better part of the work day making sure I knew every possible train time & number I could possibly need, once I arrived, it was like chaos. But probably everyone else was fine & really I just looked like a panicked teenager fleeing around the station. (But apparently I must not have looked that panicked because I had at least 3 tourists turn to me for guidance in my state of chaos – “Is there a bathroom where you’re headed?” “Is this train going to Grand Central Station?” and most importantly “Could you tell me where the Cinnabon is?” NO PEOPLE. Does this giant piece of luggage I’m carrying LOOK like a cinnamon roll to you.) Anyway, I finally grabbed my ticket, found my station, and although I wasted $12 on an unneeded “return” ticket in the midst of my panic, I eventually sat on the train next to a Scottish family for the next 30 minutes of dreamy restfulness.

And NOW I must take a moment & say that I have one of the most amazing fams there is. No wonder I miss home so bad! After this crazy day, I was outrageously excited to get picked up by my family and walk into a home smelling of pumpkin fall candles – just as requested. :) Spending those 2 days at home resting, eating Chickfila with my momma, joking with my dad & helping Andrew with his homework ;) was everything my homesick heart needed! (Not to mention the coffee. & the FOOD.)

cutie ;)

cutie #2 ;)

And then Waco.

Now let me say that I know Waco has its flaws and its occasional armed robberies (okay, weekly) and somehow still lacks a La Madeleine, but man, is that a great place. And though it might mean less to me in three years when most of the pieces of my heart there have graduated, there will always be one day that occurs every year in Waco that is important enough to steal my autumn plane ticket from Thanksgiving. And that, my blogging peoples, is Baylor Homecoming. Since about age 4 (maybe earlier. I don’t know. mom?) I have counted down the days til the morning of Baylor parade and the night of Baylor pigskin, and haven’t missed many since then!

good times.... (tiff, don't kill me!;)

But enough of the history lesson! The real news is I got to eat La Fiesta with some of my best friends in this world! (And had even missed tex mex a little if truth be told…I know.) Then we headed to the bonfire where I got to see MORE friends like Brian, Chris & Garr! (friends, friends, everywhere!), and we were able to enjoy ourselves regardless of the fact that Baylor has now added a stay-away-from-the-bonfire fence around the bonfire. (And how weird was it seeing all the pigskin peeps walking around in costumes while we were now the people in regular clothes? So weird.) Then a bunch of us went to Uswirl and froyo’d OUT – with endless samples I might add – and spent the rest of the night at Gotch & Amber’s place still in disbelief that we were all actually in the same city.

But missed you, Ann & Sim, SO MUCH! :(

*hearts in eyes emoji*

SATURDAY.

Was the best. Paraded with the Martin fam at our ole faithful spot by Martin Hall (& it was actually cold! It had been so long since a cold Parade!), went to Uncle Dan’s with friends & fam & INDULGED in some Texas BBQ, and then sped over to the Pigskin performance. And that was really the best.

Love those 'rents :)

Saw so many friends that I’d missed so much, and sat – for the first time since freshman year – in the audience while watching friends perform. I’d been wondering for a long time what that would feel like, and I was so relieved that it wasn’t sad & it wasn’t painful – it was a blast. “Sing” might be a different story, but we had so much fun being those alums that get to sit in the audience & scream their heads off for all their friends and – especially – for “Chi O & Company.” ;) After being one of the Sing Chairs for this act for the better part of my senior year, it was pretty sad not being able to be involved in its final semester…especially after all the changes it went through & knowing how much hard work the other chairs were having to go through. But I. Was So. Proud.

I am absolutely biased in the worst way, but I gotta say – watching that act was an absolute blast. Those guys stepped it up HUGELY, and those girls looked like they were having the time of their lives. Which was all we wanted! So I was beaming with pride!

my cutest lil hip fam :)

my lil kitty-kat!

(So proud of those Sing Chairs :)

Probably the most stressful part of the whole weekend – and probably for weekends to come – was having to balance spending time with all the people I wanted to spend so much time with. It’d be one thing if I knew I’d see these people again soon, but everything was so much more urgent in light of the fact that I had – and still have – no idea when I’ll get to hang out with them next. And-that-is-SAD. So I was forced to split my time between seeing friends at their theatre rehearsal for a little while (not long enough),

gah, no amount of time is ever enough! love them.

& find a last-minute ticket to the game to spend a little more time with Gotch & Amber & talk to friends like Jdun & Ann for less than five minutes (SO worth it), 

ann in her official "get up" :) so proud of her!

and then leave the [most crowded ever] game at halftime to spend some quality time with my momma & sister. Yes it was as crazy as it sounds!!!! But man, ending the night at an almost completely empty Common Grounds with my fam was as good as it sounds. And really hard to leave! 

Spent the rest of the weekend SO happy to worship at Gateway, my home church, eat homemade meals, walk around Southlake with my fam & FINALLY get to see my little medical professional, Kris! She was gracious enough to sit there while I packed, and even though it was for less than 30 minutes, it was the best! It was as hard to leave Texas as I expected it would be. How can you be expected to say goodbye to people when you actually don’t know the next time you’ll be seeing them? Ouch. But the Lord is good, and sat me on the plane right near another BU alum – Sarah George. So we were able to split a cab ride home! (So much money saved.)

(P.s. If your final destination is in Manhattan, it actually makes a lot more sense to fly into Newark. The train is over 50% cheaper than a cab, and will get you to Penn or Grand Central Station in the same amount of time – with a lot less motion sickness…in my humble opinion.)

But just so you know, the sadness I felt when flying from DFW was equally matched by the excitement I felt once again when we were able to see the first traces of the NY skyline. And that was a relief. It’s one of those things you hope to feel when you’re coming back to your “new home” for the first time, but I was so thankful that I actually felt it. And that excitement only increased as I walked into our teeny little apartment. I was glad to be home, and I was glad to call it home! And that felt good!

Sim's precious & practically professional illustration of my self in 

proportion to the big city ;) had to save it! miss that little argentinian! 

But anyway, it was an exceptionally good weekend. And as much as I wish all those people were here with me, it reminded me how lucky I was to have them, and thankful that I didn’t take my time with them for granted. Now I just have to give up this weird, irrational expectation that they’ll somehow all live here in NYC with me someday…a girl can dream ;) And hey…

ONLY 48 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS, AM I RIGHT? :)

oh, just central park SHOWING OFF. ;) and YES, it's
actually as dreamy as this picture lets on. (so why haven't
i been living in a tent here ^ these past 2 months?)

But more on autumn in NYC later :) I've got SO many ideas for my next few posts, so hopefully I'll be more on top of it than I was these past couple weeks! And they'll be more nyc-related, i promise!

til then i'll just be kickin' around some leaves,
kelsey