A Long Time Coming

Yesterday was the first day that I felt fall in the air. It totally freaked me out but also totally got me excited about the things I love about fall.  Us Polen's sure have been through a lot this summer and the fall is sure to bring its own trials, but there is something about the changing of seasons that brings triumph, hope, but also a bit of sadness. I live for summer; time on the lake, time in the sun, and lots of time with people that I love.  Fall has become a favorite time for me though in recent  years; the leaves, the cider, the doughnuts (cheat worthy), the orchard, the football, and the beginning of a new school year.  Fall has been associated with newness for so long in my life now that it is also accompanied with excitement and a bit of nervousness.  This year it is my last year of school, at least for a good while, the beginning of my medical social work experience, a new internship, a new and longer distance in my relationship and it is also the biggest fight my mom has had to face in her life.  It is sure to be a season of trial, but I am hopeful that it goes by quick and we can all look back one day proud that we got through this season of life.

Though fall is in the air for sure, I am most certainly hoping for a few more heat waves before the frigid cold hits Michigan as it always does.  In the mean time, I'll try to capture some of this warmth when it becomes impossible to think of weather above 30 in a mere few months.

Madre is enjoying her last few weeks of summer, too.  She has an insane amount of appointments in the upcoming week/s that are keeping us all busy.  She is doing s great job of staying active when she can and resting when she needs to.  She is also trying to be very patient with us all as we try to become caretakers and help out with the house, Zach, and managing the logistics of the next months.

Hope you are all enjoying summer!

Home Again Home Again..

Well after very few days home in over a month (5 days out of 6 weeks to be exact), I am home "for good" for at least awhile.  I went on vacation in Seabrook with the Groh's, vacation with my family on the boat, I was in Ohio mourning the loss of my papaw, I was spending time with Christopher in Columbus, and most recently I helped move Christopher to Charleston.  It has been a whirlwind of six weeks and so much has happened.  I am exhausted, drained, and burned out emotionally.  It's hard to believe that I need to be gearing up for another school year and teaching year. 

Leaving Charleston was difficult for lots of reasons.  Not only was I leaving this incredible man, but I was also coming home to reality.  Whereas the traveling life lends itself to postponing reality, being home does not.  August will be a month of getting our house, my family, and my momma ready for the battle (of which she has very much started) of her life, literally.  All of our focus is on getting her healthy, and the month of August will be put to good use in getting us all ready.  It was hard coming home, but I am so ready to get my mom feeling better and to see her healthy and back up to her maximum feisty levels, though don't get me wrong, she most certainly hasn't lost her feisty spark.  Tonight she was teaching us the proper hours of phone calls.  Only between 9 and 9, and make the phone call yourself if you want it outside those hours, dammit.    

Thanks for being a part of this journey with me.  This year is bound to be full of more ups and downs, but I am still holding out for the positive and good news of 2012, and trying to find it in every day.

#272:  Remembering to be grateful!
#273: 11:11.  I absolutely love making wishes and being able to wish for positivity!
#274: Safe travels on such a CRAZY day in the airports today.  It was beyond busy!
#275: I love my family so so much and am so proud of their incredible strength.

Boyne Highlands--Ski Trip in 15 Hours

I haven't skied  since my helicopter ride off the mountain in Saas Fe, Switzerland [which was, by the way, the first time I had ever skied].  My baby brother is on the ski team at Brighton and loves it..and with his skiing, my parents have to cart him all over Michigan for various competitions.  This past weekend, they were at Boyne Highlands and Chris and I decided to tag along...

Now let me just say that I don't actually know what I'm doing while I'm skiing and I hate going fast (in cars, boats, skis, what have you) so I am basically terrified the entire time the skis are on my feet.  BUT I also kinda love it.  I love the feeling of going down the mountain, and I love seeing the really good skiers and the REALLY REALLY tiny little babies that can ski better than they can talk. 

Boyne was absolutely gorgeous, and the drive up there was incredibly beautiful as well.  I highly recommend going :)  I find myself falling more and more in love with this state as I realize more and more that it is simply not where I am meant to live....I promise that isn't as confusing as it sounds...

What I learned in Boyne:
#136: Babies/Toddlers are people, but really small people that struggle to put words to their emotions.  Because of this, parents become frustrated easily.  My dad thinks this is okay, though, because it makes the parent feel better, and the child won't remember and then the padre can go home to his wife happy.  Not violent.
#137: My brother is becoming less of a baby in some ways, but more of a baby in others.  I guess it is his process of growing up...and growing up with so many adults who constantly have opinions on your actions. 
#138: I don't miss being a teenager at all.  And I definitely don't miss feeling like I have to fit a certain mold to be accepted.
#139: As independent as I like to think I am, I still need help all the time; with buttoning my helmet, putting on shoes, putting on mittens, and getting up when I fall down.  It may irk my independent side to admit I need help...but it's also nice knowing people will be there to help me when I ask.
#140: You're never too old for a lesson in humility.  Fall off a chair lift, then come talk to me about how cool you are.

Joy

#131: such an amazing thing it is that we, as Americans, can travel within our own country (state, too) and experience so many climates, terrains, and weather elements.
#132: family is a blessing not a guarantee. Grateful for mine.
#132: getting to spend time with children. They're goofy, silly, funny, and always changing.
#133: nothing better than a baby lighting up at the sight of you. Grateful to not just be a babysitter, but an integral part of the development of a child (children).
#134: school! I love school, learning, opening my mind, and learning from my peers.
#135: cars! My little red engine that could has over 20,000 miles on it now! It's fun to think of all of the places I have gone in those 20,000 miles :)

Brief Update

Well finals week has descended upon us at the University of Michigan.  That means people are crazy, grumpy and tired.  I am most definitely included in that.

I will be done with my first semester of grad school in less than 24 hours and I couldn't be more excited.  I am looking forward to a few weeks of craziness: interning, lesson planning and sleeping.  Maybe working out, too.  We'll see.

I spent the weekend in Indianapolis and had TONS of fun, but became even more exhausted.  I am working on getting all of my work done now so I just have to turn everything in tomorrow and hope for the best!

 
Stay warm!

#92: Warm coats.  I own way too many coats, but they all have various uses, looks and warmth.  Thankful for them.
#93: Great friends, great family, a great life. 
#94: My internship has been incredible.  Challenging, difficult, frustrating.  But incredible. 

Travel Day!

Today's the day of travel! After class I will be well on my way to Ohio to see my lovely family.  This will be such an incredible experience for our family since we'll be seeing my grandpa for the first time since he has been diagnosed.  My mom has been down, but my siblings and I haven't been able to make the treck to the little town of Chillicothe. 

I love family gatherings for so many reasons.  I am so excited to see everyone, to eat delicious food, and spend quality time laughing and telling stories.  I am also excited to go black friday shopping!!! I wasn't able to go since last year I went to the houseboat...but this year my plans are a bit different... :) :)

I hope everyone has safe travels!  Good luck dealing with any dilemmas that arise as a result of having so many family members together!! 

Missed Opportunity

Guess what I just found out?  Well, I kinda new this already..but not the little details...

So everyone knows I've nannied for several families over the past 4-5 years, and have been babysitting since I was 10.  For real.  It has been a guaranteed source of income for me because there are ALWAYS families looking for babysitters or nannies...and it has been an awesome job while being in college because of the flexibility. 

International nannying has always been something I've concerned, but have never really looked in to.  There's a lot of paperwork, and at times lots of logistics to figure out the payment/rent ratio.  I was always interested in making more money rather than making less money in exchange for free rent because of the difficult task of making time off, time off. 

SO TRUE

I was reading some websites recently and found out that people were making anywhere from $30-60K a year nannying overseas.  The range is because number of hours and location vary for each person, obviously.  That is a lot a lot of money.  And taking just a year off between undergrad and grad school would have paid for my graduate career.  Easily.  So why did I not do this?!?!

Before putting in your deposit for grad school, make sure you are completely educated on how much it will really cost you.  I am working so hard to make sure I do not end up with copious amounts of debt in the form of student loans...I don't want to be 40 and still paying school off...

Even though I didn't choose to go overseas to work, I will make the best of my opportunities here to keep the amount I pay out of pocket up and the amount I borrow low!!!

Traffic

I hate cars.  I hate driving.  Yet I also really like driving.  It's peaceful and calm, yet terrifying and causes frequent near death experiences.  Today there were several of those said experiences.  I don't like driving.  But I also really like it. 

Costa Rica, amigos

It's so beautiful there.  It's quaint.  It was relaxing, and incredibly peaceful.  I would rather show you, though, than tell you.

Here we were at Taco Bar were we got to eat amazing
food (that had menu items I could eat!!) and great (Crazy
strong) wine while SWINGING at the bar.  It was incredible :)

 

I saw some of the best sun sets of my LIFE last week...and these are some of them.  The colors were incredible. 

Every night, we spent 6-7 (approx) watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.  We were in an amazingly beautiful condo that had a GREAT balcony where we could all pull up seats to watch as the sun said goodnight to us and hello to others. 

We also got to go zip-lining one day which was one of the best experiences ever...we had so much fun, and I giggled a lot a lot. 

I couldn't have asked for a better trip.  I am really tan now, super refreshed, and got to breath humid air (I'm sick people, this is a HUGE highlight).  I loved being around people who just let me be who I am...inappropriate, goofy, silly, and fun.  It was great.  I can't say that I'm happy to be back, but since I have to be, I am excited that I was at least able to bring back my tan and refreshment with me (humidity doesn't travel well).

Weekend Number Three

So, you're probably anxious to hear about my exciting travels for this weekend, right?

Well I did no such traveling, and it was incredibly low key.  Though I love going away to see people and get away from Ann Arbor, I really do love just being home in my amazingly warm and cozy bed, doing countless hours of reading.  Actually I don't like the reading part because it was all for school.  Blehh.

Friday was fun; I got to have dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in awhile.  We tried to go to Palio, but it was crazy busy.  Instead we went to BWW and had deliciousness.  I also won a bet which is always exciting :)

Saturday was busy...I got to hang out with three little boys that I love alot...

So stinkin cute!

Today, I woke up early to play with babies at the nursery, though only one baby showed it was a delight.  I got to rock baby Lucy to sleep and enjoy her company. 

I hope you had a great weekend :)