October 31 to November 2nd is Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) you may have heard of it before from the Pixar movie Coco. In Guatemala people celebrate Day of the Dead, the holiday is where people go to the graveyard lay flower petals all over the grave, they fly kites, they bring food to the grave site to eat with their dead relatives they believe that people who died that their spirit can come back on the holiday to see the living again. For the holiday we went to the Parramos graveyard praying for the people who have lost a loved one, we heard them share their story and heart for them. I met this man who told us that he lost his wife, daughter, son, and two grandsons. My heart started to break as he was sharing. As I was standing there listening to him speak of the people he lost it made me miss my family and friends back home. Family is one of the most important and wonderful things in life. I have been beyond blessed to have the people in my life that I do. My loving parents Jeff and Dawn who are my biggest supporter in my life, they mean the world to me, my brother in law Alex and my sister Rachel, they speak with wisdom, who are total sweethearts and are also the funniest people I know. My brother Josh who is the bravest man I know and has such a heart for animals that it melts my heart, my best friend Cassidy who is one of the strongest and independent girls I know, and my beautiful bestie Chloe who I swear is the closest person to a Disney princess you will ever meet, she holds herself with boldness and grace, she is so sweet and bubbly and has the voice of an angel. God has blessed me with them and I can’t wait to see my family and friends again in June. Take every opportunity you can to spend time with the people you love for time flys by and you don’t want to regret all the times you missed an opportunity to spend with them. Sometimes I listen to the song Cat’s in the Cradle which if you haven’t heard it it’s about a son who wants to spend time with his dad but the dad is always busy with work and doesn’t have time for his son and when the son grows up he has a family of his own and the dad finally realized all the time he missed and wants to spend time with his son but the son is to busy with his own family and work that he doesn’t have time for his dad. Words of advice don’t let that happen to you. Spend time with your family. Cherish those precious moments. Being on the race has made me homesick for my family and I still have to wait months and months to be with them but you can get in the car, train, or plane and go see them. Tell them how much you appreciate and love them.
