Hello world!
Greetings from San Juan, Dominican Republic! I can’t believe the first week of month two is over! This race is honestly racing by fast! In about 3 weeks, I will be in Ireland for the awakening and my 3rd month! I can’t believe it. Sometimes, I just wake up and ask God if this is really my life. It is crazy. I keep feeling like I haven’t left for the race yet and sometimes I tell myself things like, “I can’t wait to be on the race!!” and then I realize I’M ON THE RACE RIGHT NOW! Today I stayed back at the house because I wasn’t feeling too well… There is a cold going around… Anyway, while I was laying on the floor downstairs, I started hearing footsteps and sobbing… Next thing I knew, Rachel Mcquire was laying next to me crying. Rach M for those of you who don’t know is also from Florence, AL! When we both found out we were going on the race together and we were from the same small town we freaked out! I’ve spent the past year before the race getting to know her and preparing with her. But tomorrow is a very special day for her… Her best friend (Dakota) is getting married. She had written her a letter and wanted to read it to me to hear my thoughts. Let me just say that by the middle of the letter, I was also sobbing like a baby. Fact is, I miss home. I miss my friends. I miss local food (Shout out to Miami ICE, Trollbridges, RIVERTOWN, CHICAGO CAFE and Ricatoni’s). I miss my dog. I miss everything… I knew this day would come… But I have tried to ignore the facts and stay busy… And watching it hit Rach today it finely hit me as well…. I’m HOMESICK. Honestly, I have figured out that it’s not as bad if I stay off facebook and I don’t talk to people on skype because then I won’t really notice just how much I’m missing them. After Rach finished reading me her letter of encouragement to her best friend of the past 16 years and an apology for missing the most important day of her life that they have been planning since … We just sat there and cried… We spent the day sharing stories, telling each other how we were really doing emotionally, talking about life back in Florence, and finishing it off with a cookie and milk party before dozing off for an afternoon nap. Today has honestly stirred a lot of emotions in me. I have been feeling some of them but have chosen to ignore the obvious. This race is HARD. I can’t tell you how hard it is or explain the changes I have already gone thru emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It’s been rough! I am already a new person though and that scares me. What happens when I get home and my team isn’t there? I’m terrified. What happens when I get back and nobody recognizes me? I’m worried. What happens when I realize everything I have ever wanted was simply right in front of my face this whole time? I feel silly. That’s the main thing I have realized now. I’m so thankful for everything I have had and do have in my life back home. I’m so BLESSED! And I already can’t wait to get home and share with everyone things that I have already learned. I can’t wait for the chance to appreciate every single second of my life with my family and friends back home. Please know that I think and pray for you every single day and even when you don’t hear from me for weeks, know that you are in my heart and I read your letters over and over and over again every single day. Some things I wish I could do today if I was at home would be…
Curl up with my dog Aspen and rub his belly until he couldn’t stop shaking his leg as I tickled him…
Play a couple of new songs that I have written recently for my best friend Heather like I always used to…
Eat some chicken nuggets with SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE!!!
Watch a movie while talking about life with my best friend Nathaniel before consuming every single sweet delicious thing we could find….
Get a lecture from my father and a hug would be nice as well…
Sit on the bed with my great aunt Bet so she could tell me stories from her childhood from the 1940s and 50s…
Watch a chick flick with my mom as I laid my head on her lap and she rubbed my head…
Spend a few hours having a jam session with my little brother Spencer in our storage room… I miss him so much…
Spin my nephews Eli and Landon around until I was sick and not have to worry about picking them up wrong as I do with the children around the world who aren’t healthy…
Trash talk with my sister in law and learn a new craft… Ughhh I miss her so much…
Hold my brand new baby niece Peyton as I just stared at her in amazement…
Listen to stories from my big brother Michael about his work and football…
Eat some steak, drink some Mike’s hard lemonade, and just relax…
Call my best friend Shelby and laugh so hard till we had to pee…
Take a nice long shower that wasn’t cold or out of a bucket and finish it off with doing my makeup, hair, and throwing on a dress and high heels before hitting the town for a girls night out with Reka and Joyce…
Take tons of silly pictures with Nick and Stephanole… I miss my brothers!
Eat some sushi with my favorite Mormon, Raliegh.
Road trip and hangout with Jimmy so we could sing Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs and maybe even watch him play some ball ;p …
Love on James and try to get him to come home…
And finely end up crashing at Rance’s apartment with the gang watching musicals and Disney movies all night…
Oh what a day! Oh what my life was like even a couple of months ago… I miss it.
Don’t get me wrong, this place is awesome. Just know that it just makes me feel blessed to have such amazing people back home waiting on me. I love you all.
I knew this trip would be a life changing experience for me and I knew a lot could and would happen in 11 months but I never thought about how everyone else would change. I’m so afraid that when I get back it will be like I’ve been in a coma for 11 months. Friends will have gotten married, had babies, and grown up. I guess that’s part of growing up in general though… Not only changing yourself but being okay with others changing. I know all of you are on your own path just like I am on mine… I just hope that when I get to the end of this yellow brick road that is the world race that you all will be waiting for me at the finish line ready to love on me.
Just some thoughts…
Britt
