we'll march forever down the years

Last weekend was incredible. To be completely honest, I was exhausted about halfway through the weekend. There were some early mornings, late nights and a lot of energy expended in between, but it was so good to catch up with special friends and be reminded of the blessings of those people who've touched your life.

THURSDAY:
After my wonderful friend Kate dropped me off at the airport, I made my way to Waco (via the DFW airport and Chick-fil-A) to start off the weekend's festivities. When we stopped by 7th & James to get the house keys from my dad, we ran into a few BRHers so the reunion began a little early. I'll leave someone out if I attempt to list all of them here, but I'll just say it was such a fun surprise : )

That evening was Pigskin! It was a weird feeling to go to Pigskin without knowing every detail of the acts that I'd be seeing. Liesl had done a pretty good job describing the various acts when she went to Sing last year, but it's not the same as being there in person. I was disappointed in a few acts (the guys never seem to prepare as much as they should for Pigskin), and I was pretty impressed by a couple. TriDelt's act was a lot of fun, really sharp and high energy. It got me so excited for Courtney's act this spring; I'm hoping to make it to the show in February, so we'll see ...

I saw so many friends at Pigskin. There's nothing like the hug you get from a friend after it's been awhile -- and in most cases a year -- since you saw them last. It's absolutely precious, and reminds me of the many ways I've been blessed.

FRIDAY:
My one complaint about Friday involved the weather. Although some would say it was a beautiful day, I was disappointed in the temperature -- it was too warm! I had a cute outfit all picked out, but luckily I had done some last minute "just in case" packing. It wasn't the outfit I had planned, but I think it was okay ; )

My mom, Les and I decided to go out for breakfast in order to spend a little time together as just the girls. Although it took a little while to settle on Cafe Cappuccino (we didn't know that the Olive Branch had moved), it was such a wonderfully refreshing time with no agenda, nothing specific that had to be discussed, and just us. I love my family.

Probably my favorite event of the weekend was my small group lunch that afternoon. I was shocked when everyone showed up to Teriyaki Park. I never forget how much I love them, but it's nice to be reminded why I love them so much. They are an amazing group of women with beautiful hearts and each is unique and precious. I caught up on their lives, caught them up on mine, heard stories from Trinidad, talked about the future and of course laughed a little in the process. Love them, and can't wait for our Christmas party when I get home (to Waco -- that's weird!) for the break.

The main event, of course, was Singspiration. If I even tried to list all of the people I saw I would fail miserably and inevitably leave someone out. So I won't try. I will say that the BRH Alumni Choir sounded awesome. There were a number of former BRH directors there to lead worship, and I was incredibly humbled to be counted among that group. Unworthy, yes, but humbled. It's a great family and tradition to be a part of; it's the best part of Baylor to me, and the place where I continue to be most blessed as I come back each year.

Bonfire was loud -- I'm getting old : ) But I saw a few people, then headed back to the house for some hangout time with the extended family (a.k.a. the Machens).

SATURDAY:
An early morning. DDD Breakfast. I'm a little too old and too young for the breakfast; too old to know many current members and too young for my alumni friends to sacrifice sleep to get there in the morning. But I saw Carrie and Emily, my mom ran into a number of her friends, and then we made our way to the parade. After grabbing the traditional kolache and Dr. Pepper, we stood on our typical side of the street and cheered on my cousin's winning float (good job Blake!), the BRH trolley (<3) class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">DDD/PhiChi float (love you Catherine). It was fun, I was tired but it was thoroughly Baylor.

We had a BRH Reunion lunch that was a lot of fun. The current choir sang and they sounded AMAZING. They actually are recording this weekend, and I can't wait to hear the finished product. After some great catching up with members past and present, it was time to say goodbye to BRH for the weekend. Off to the football game for fellowship with the Bushes and Machens, a really good effort by the Bears (we got edged out in the last two minutes) and more Homecoming tradition.

Saturday night we crashed. Nana had given Liesl and me some "Trick-or-Treat" money (her words, not mine), so we treated to pizza delivery and I was in bed by 9:45. Plus we had the time change, so life was sweet.

SUNDAY:
Back to the airport and back to the real world. Laughed a lot on the way to Dallas, watched Mom and Liesl cry as they said goodbye, gave my own hugs and goodbyes, then boarded the plane. Kate was sweet, again, and picked me up from DCA, dropped me off at my car, and I was on my way back to Williamsburg.


As always, I got tired of typing the longer I got into my post, so I'd be impressed if anyone in the universe - even some crazy Internet stalker - made it through the entire post. I might post my musings on the election sometime in the near future, but then again I may not. I'll probably let you know my finals schedule, and I might even let you in on the exciting life I'll be leading in the 'Burg for the next few weeks. But if you don't hear from me for awhile, don't fret; you're not missing much anyway.

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