Well, well, well...on my way home from Arkansas, I finished the latest Jacqueline Winspear novel called "Leaving Everything Most Loved." At the end, I found the perfect quote that pertains to my big kids and our family's changes.
"Leaving that which you love breaks your heart open. But you will find a jewel inside, and this precious jewel is the opening of your heart to all that is new and all that is different, and it will be the making of you -- if you allow it to be."
I think this is why I don't cry when my kids go. It's emotional, but not sad. How can I be sad when they're doing great things? Both Kamiko and Allie are making themselves great with these adventures in college and mission. So is Mel, as she plays the role of only child at home. Changes for everyone.
On to my trip to Arkansas.
Tuesday: left EARLY. Flight left SLC at 6:30. Had a layover in Phoenix. Allie slept and I walked around the concourse. Got into Tulsa, rented car and drove 3+ hours to Eureka Springs, AR, to see Christ of the Ozarks. It's a 70-foot high statue of Christ. It was very pretty and tall. We were gonna go there later in the week, but were up for the drive. In hindsight, it was a good idea. The end of the week got busy. NW Arkansas is gorgeous, hilly and green. I loved it and told Allie I was so glad she took this adventure. Had she gone to BYU, she would have missed out on seeing a new part of the country. We checked into our hotel and went to Walmart and Target. We bought some school stuff and bought groceries to keep in our room. It was the first of many trips to Walmart. We were right around the corner from it. Oh, first thing I noticed...Walmart was totally decked out for UARK. Razorback stuff and banners everywhere!
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| Out of juice by the time we got to Eureka Springs. There was an outlet outside of the bathroom building. We rested and charged there for a few minutes. |
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| Only two of about four rows of Razorback stuff at Wal-Mart |
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| On the road in our Mazda |
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| Stopped at Whataburger in OK. They messed up my order. :( All I got was a hamburger with ketchup and mustard. No pickles, onion, lettuce or tomato. It was still good, though. Allie said if they put fry sauce on the burgers, they would be perfect. |
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| Why didn't Allie tell me how awful this picture was? Or retake it? |
Wednesday: Got up and had our free breakfast. I had raisin bran and yogurt every day and Allie had biscuits and gravy every day. I love biscuits and gravy, but I'm too old to think I can eat like that and not get super FAT. Met a nice man at breakfast who comes into Fayetteville often. He told us he works with sorority girls and cheerleaders. I was curious about what exactly he does. Well, we found out later. He sets up shop in is room to give spray tans to the cheerleaders and sorority girls. Creepy, huh? They all know where to find him. He was really nice, but I think his job is creepy. We went on a nice drive to an art studio that has cute walking trails with murals and pottery throughout. We had orientation that afternoon. That's when I got most emotional. Allie was with students and I was in the parent session and I had to work really hard from crying every 2 minutes. I made it. What helped was remembering that she has institute across the street and a mormon mom 30 minutes away. Through my TA Annie, I met Michelle Blankenship, who has a daughter coming to BYU, and we promised to take care of each other's daughters. Had dinner at orientation, then went back to hotel.
Thursday: Got up early to get back to orientation. Allie met with her advisor and we walked around campus a bit. While she was in her student session, I met a mom who had heard that someone from Utah was there. She said "You're Utah!" She had lived in Vegas and her best friend is LDS and lives in Cedar City. She happens to live in Eureka Springs, where we went on day #1. She said she'll be Allie's mom, too. So, Al has two moms, both named Michelle, in Arkansas. We found the Home Economics building and I got a pic there. The administrative assistant even let us in one of the foods labs so I could see it. It was a nice lab for an old building. Ours is much nicer, but ours is much newer, too. We went to institute that night. There were a few kids there. It was the last week of summer session. More will be coming. There's a kid with down syndrome, named Nick, who goes. He picks the hymn every week. Went home. Watched HGTV. That's pretty much all we had on our TV. We just enjoyed watching the home makeover shows.
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| Allie is the recipient of the Silas Hunt Scholarship. We found this framed information about him. |
Friday: Last day to get stuff done before moving in and before lots of students get into town. We bought Allie's books, bought her mini fridge, microwave, more things she needed. It costs a lot of money, but that's ok. My kids are great and worth it. Allie reminded me how many old navy bucks I was earning by charging it on my old navy card. Went to a custard place and got a concrete with vanilla custard and key lime pie. That was delicious!!!! Oh, also drove by Bill and Hillary Clinton's house. Hahahaha! Bought boxes and packed everything up that wasn't in the two suitcases Allie was keeping.
Saturday: moved Allie in quickly! Record time. I was glad I had thought to buy boxes instead of having a million walmart bags. We got the first batch moved in about 20 min, then ran back to the hotel to get batch #2. Fridge, microwave, more boxes. Got everything in and her roommate, Christina, came. She's super cute and her family is really nice. Her dad, sister, stepmom and stepsisters were all there. I helped unpack a bit, then went to shower and check out. I had to fly home and I wanted to freshen up a bit before my drive, then flight. Allie and I picked up a pizza for our last meal. We went to a place called Eureka Pizza. It's like Little Caesar's, in that it has cheap pizza. BUT, they have a drive-through window. What a GREAT IDEA! I dropped her off and I drove the 2 hours back to the airport. It was a beautiful drive through small towns in Oklahoma. I only cried a little bit. It's more emotional than sad. Kinda like when Kamiko left. It's hard to be sad when your kids are doing great things, but it's emotional because there is change and I'll miss her.
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| Beginning stages of moving in |
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| Getting there. The bed is made. |
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| Christina Mandujano, from Houston, TX |
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| Eating pizza in the car |
Funny Experience/Oklahoma Miracle: On they way back to the airport, in the middle of nowhere, there is a toll road and NO attendant. You must have exact change. I threw all the change I had into the little funnel thingy, but the light was still red. If I just drove on, I would risk a HUGE fine from the rental car company if they got a ticket. I searched through my purse, the car, etc. I watched to see if any cars might come and give me some money. Then I decided to look on the ground to see if there was any money people had thrown that didn't make it to the funnel thingy. I immediately found 2 pennies and threw them in. GREEN LIGHT! I had been only 2 cents short. Found them and got on my way. Milagro!
