I am not in Spain.
It has been very weird to get used to that concept, which I am guessing is normal since I am in the initial stages of my return. My lovely sister keeps reminding me that I am in America and that I should speak English (jokingly, of course). Although I'm still confused that I am in a different country (again), I've reunited with family, and some friends (more to come this week!), still haven't unpacked my room completely...but I am back, I am here.
A few days after arriving I went to my family 4th of July party at my Aunt and Uncle's lake. I saw a lot of my family, met the new babies in the family, had a cheeseburger, a beer, laughed with my cousins...and watched some 4th of July fireworks. A lot of times my uncles will drive two or three states down in order to buy bigger and better fireworks that they don't sell in Michigan, and they never disappoint! This year they didn't either.
One little anecdote that I would like to share is when the fireworks were going off. I was sitting by the lake with a few of my cousins, we were remembering when a firework went off on a poor old man's flannel shirt a few years back. It wasn't funny then, but admittedly, we were laughing :). Chrissy and Gail were making jokes about what would happen if a fire work exploded near Gail (she would apparently lose a leg), and we were all cheering on Jose and Gordon walking onto the deck, lighting the fireworks, and moseying back onto the grass. The air was smokey and colorful and bright, and Chrissy looked over at me and said "See? You're back in the United States, right where you belong. Where we blow things up and eat like pigs!".
We are a very charming people :).
Chrissy is right, though. I am back, and although I'm not quite sure where I truly belong right now, I do have a lot to look forward to here (and also back in Spain someday ;D). Maybe I am a woman with more than one country. I hope that I am, because I miss it, maybe more than I've missed anything in my whole life. But we keep going, or so I've been told.
So, here is what life is looking like for me right now. There aren't any vineyards or old windmills, no narrow roads, or giant bull billboards placed along the freeway. It's different, but it's familiar. It's my home.
 |
| blowin' stuff up! |
 |
| My cousin, Sarah, and me at the lake.. |
 |
| Celebrating Theresa's 17th birthday with a family lunch |
 |
| Pedicures with cousins and aunts |
 |
| Finally had a Mexican meal--I missed that stuff! |
 |
| Paw always helps me unpack |
Enough with the rambling.
I haven't decided yet if I am going to keep this blog going now that I am back and my adventure is over. There are definitely new adventures to come though, so we'll see.
Anyway, thank you all for reading, I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed sharing my European adventure here through words and pictures. I hope to be back there...as SOON as I can, but I am also looking forward to the handful of weddings I am going to this summer, getting back into Social Work, starting grad school in September, and starting over as a new person in a very accepting town.
On that note, goodnight, and GO BLUE!
Mary
