during my travel days back to America
for my grandfathers funeral
Friday: June 11th
8am sleeping in Romania… my cell rings. Its my dad. Dad says, “Jamie, he passed a few hours ago.�
8:03am I hang up my phone. Everyone else in the house is asleep. I step outside, not knowing what to do. I start going for a walk, a tear came down my face as I walk next to an old gypsy woman. Decide I don’t want people to see me. Walk back to the house and sit outside.
8:06am put on worship music. Jeremy Camp, “There will be a day” comes on and tears come streaming down my face. I start to break but feel myself holding back.
8:30am Skype with dad. He gives me more details. I decide to go home to be with my family during this hard time. Hang up with dad. Look up flights
8:45am Syd wakes up and comes into the room. I told her what happened. Another tear comes down my face. She is there for me.
9:00am Syd and I walk up to the lake. Moments of silence. Moments of reflection. Moments of emotion. Moments of nothing. Moments of complete beauty. Moments of prayer. Moments of feeling completely loved
9:20am Sit in the shade by the lake. I tell syd stories of his life. Like how he drove the wrong way down a one way street and then drove over the median or how we would sing at the top of our lungs while driving in his car. I remembered the good things. I remembered the things that made me love him. I remembered how much he taught me. I reflected on how much he has shaped my life to become who I am today.
9:45am While sitting and processing I figure none of this will truly be real to me until I get home. Syd asks to pray for me, and does. Tears yet again come down my face.
10:00am Open up my heart and talk about life and death
11:00am walk back to the house
11:30am tell the team about what happened, hold myself together for the rest of the afternoon
1:00pm Pack my bag to catch a train back to Bucharest. Syd and Jory offer to come with me. I wholeheartedly agree.
5:00pm Catch the first world cup game. Keeps my mind off of what is really going on.
8:00pm Train leaves for Bucharest.
8pm – 7am June 12th
Drive through the night. Watch the sunset. Watch the stars. Stick my head out the window to catch the cold air upon my face. Laugh with them. Have a good time together. In an instant go from laughing to quiet reflection. Have Syd and Jory as my shoulder to lean on. Worship for hours. An hour of sleep here and there.
7am – 9am between a few back steps including wrong bus and fine for taking the bus without a ticket and finally having to catch a ride Syd, Jory, and I arrive at Casa Shalom.
12pm Us three go to the mall to keep my mind off of my heart. I am surrounded by just the right people; so many times throughout the day I thought. This is exactly what I need. Saw a movie, ate cinnabons, and watched the ice skaters.
9:30pm Watch the USA v England game. Pretty good game if I don’t say so. Again a distraction.
12am Syd prays for me as a fall asleep.
4am Wake up and head to the airport
5am Leave behind Syd and Jory… off to face the reality of what happened alone. Sit down at the terminal for my flight to Paris. Put on worship and tears come down my face. At this point I don’t care who sees I need to think about what happened.
6:50am flight leaves for Paris. I sleep most of the flight
9:30am – 1:30pm long layover in Paris. Walk around the airport. Watch a movie, not much thinking.
1:30pm – 3:45 Cananda time (7 hours difference)- on flight from Paris to Toronto. 2nd leg of the journey home. I put on the Clive Owen movie called “The boys are backâ€� not knowing it is about losing someone and how people deal with death. At that moment the most tears from the time I heard the news came dripping out of my eyes. Eventually I collect myself. Flight arrives late. Go through customs. Only 45 minutes until my next flight back to America
4pm – 8pm My bags got lost between Paris and Toronto. I missed two flights. Break down to the lady at the desk in Canada that I just need to get home. She says the best she can do is get me to Detroit with a flight the next day to Milwaukee. I agree
9:30pm Arrive in Detroit. Go to hotel. Finally back in America… yet so far away from Home.
9:05am Flight landed in Milwaukee I see both my parents waiting for me
As the next couple of days have transpired I got to spend quality time with my parents, saw my grandma, dinner with the Halliburtons, saw countless family and friends at the funeral, got so many messages and phone calls from fellow racers to send their love to me, my best friends from home I will be able to see! (Renee came to the funeral to be with me and that night I got to spend time with her, her husband Chuck, and her parents Tim and Pam; Kellsey, one of my best friends from college, is coming into town to spend the day with me today; and Jenna, my other best friend from college, is driving in from Ohio on Friday to spend the day with me) Each of these people sacrificed their time to spend with me. To love on me. I am so impacted by who they are and how much they all care.
