.yin and yang chocolate.

I am SO thankful for people, especially ones that I haven't seen in a while/don't get to see everyday. Don't get me wrong, I've been blessed with great friends in Indianapolis, but this weekend made me realize that I am SO blessed to be able to travel and see so many WONDERFUL people who are in my life. When caught up in the busy-ness of school, work, etc, it's not everyday that I realize how much I miss someone or how much someone has impacted my life. This weekend I remembered how important these relationships truly are.
Friday morning I got up early (on my day OFF of class, mind you!) to drive back to Findlay for my swim coach's Hall of Fame recognition banquet. It was AWESOME to be there for the night...and he had no clue that I was coming in from Indianapolis. It was quite exciting. As much as I love swimming, it's not really something I think about all the time anymore. Friday night made me realize how much those 4 years have influenced who I have become, even though it seems like a distant memory. Basically at the open house, I was the youngest person, with the exception of my dearest teammate who also graduated in 2006 (other than us, everyone else was our parents age). It was also awesome to meet some of the FHS alumni who swam 25-30 years ago, and I have heard stories about them for years; makes me wonder how goofy all of us will look when we're that age.
Anyways...after spending 25+ hours a week with the same coach and same teammates for 4 years, you get really close...to say the least. Being able to be back with an old teammate and our two coaches from 2002-2003 season, we had a LOT of fun remembering "the good old days" and I remember what a close-knit group of swimmers we were. What a blessing....I could write pages and pages on what swimming taught me, but I will refrain for now. It was SUCH a fun night to be back with my "swim family", even though a) one parent called me my sister's name and b) lots of the parents couldn't believe that I was old enough to be holding an "adult beverage". After countless weekends on bleachers, hotel nights, and mass craziness, I realize that I only made it through swimming from the support network of amazing and encouraging parents/coaches. SO great. To say the least, it actually made me miss high school.

Saturday morning I got up (early again, but yet totally worth it) and drove to UD. It was one of my HS best friend's birthday and the three of us girls celebrated her birthday together. Once again, SO thankful that I have great friends in my life AND after 4 years and taking VERY different paths in life, we are still close. We spent the day hanging out, playing bananagrams, cooking, and then we went to THE MELTING POT. It might be my new favorite place. We had the bestest fondue EVER, and the evening was topped off with this AMAZING white and dark chocolate yin and yang fondue. If I could taste Heaven, I think that is what it would taste like. Honestly. Regardless, it was just a great chance for us to all hang out with her family, roommates, and have a mini "Findlay reunion" as we are starting to head in even more different directions post-graduation. When I think about how bummed I was to leave my HS friends, it yet again makes me realize how I couldn't have made it through school/band/"the break up"/swimming/picking a college without them. So awesome.

Conclusion: I am SO thankful for the people God has placed in my life. The way he has used them all to create who I am still boggles my mind and this is definitely something that I take for granted everyday. Also, the fact that I am writing a conclusion here makes me feel 1% less guilty about not working on my therapeutic skills conclusion and/or essay right now. :)