Hello. I am officially in North Carolina. Yeah.
So, the trip went well. After a not-fun airport experience that consisted of sitting in a cramped seat in a small airplane for three hours while "technical difficulties" were being taken care of I finally arrived in San Antonio. A place that I have not been to in 10 years. While my mom pointed out 100 different things on the road I was thinking about how long a decade really is. The last time I was in Texas I was 10 years old. I was that little dorky kid that only cared about her daddy and looking for weird things outside. Now I'm a 20 year old college student. So much has changed. It was a strange experience that I will touch on more later.
I did not have much time to think about anything once we arrived at The Lazy Star Ranch in Austin. What a strangely fabulous place! Okay, think of a cabin. Now think of an antique store or a flea market with cool rusty items. Now put the two together. That is the place I stayed at during my cousin's wedding. There was a rocking horse on top of the stove. There was saddles hanging from the wall. The ceiling of the bathroom was completely covered in license plates. Now, I realize that this is a decorator's nightmare; but, it was so rad. The wedding went as expected. There was so much personality in all of the individuals involved. It was definitely a weekend to be remembered with no dull moments at all. It is so strange that Darin is married but I am so excited for him and Stef. Loves to them.
On Sunday, my mom and I traveled to San Antonio to visit our old ward. First of all, it did not look the same to me at all. People recognized me and I honestly had no idea who they were. My mom explained who I was and most everyone's jaw dropped because I was "so grown up." But, then they asked if I was graduated from high school yet. So, of course, when I said I was twenty it was jaw drop numero dos. Needless to say, I felt kind of out of body all day. My house from my childhood didn't look the same to me at all. It is so weird to think about how your memories are impacted by the present. I thought about that all say Sunday because nothing I saw looked the same as I remembered it. Let's just say that I am glad we moved to North Carolina and leave it at that.
The best part of the trip came unexpectedly on Sunday at church. Please know that I am not trying to brag or anything it was just really important to me and was maybe sort of life changing. Stop reading if you are going to get bored fast..
Anyways, this requires some background information because you wont understand why it's so important to me if you don't hear this. When we lived in Texas there was a girl named Hannah who was one of my best friends. I am not particularly sure why we were because we had nothing in common because she could not speak well. Hannah was autistic and could only give one-word commands. She had terrible behavioral problems and could hold the emotional capacity of a 5 to 6 year old girl. Anyways, she was one of my really good friends. Okay back to the present time, I guess.
My mom and I were talking to an old friend just chatting and catching up..blah, blah, whatever. This man walked up to us and excused himself but asked who we were. I told him my name was Kirby and we were just visiting for the day. He proceeded to tell me that his name was Roland and that he was Hannah's father. He went off on a rampage about how his daughter wasn't there and at the same time we were still talking to some other people in the hallway so I wasn't paying attention. Out of the corner of my peripheral hearing (yes, I did just say that) I heard him speaking with his wife on the phone. He was so excited about something and talking about how I was in town. The next thing I know he is telling me that his wife is actually going to get Hannah right now from her living facility so she could come me. I was glad that I could see her but I didn't understand why he was so excited. The story that Roland proceeded to tell me is still crazy to me. Hannah has a type and talk app on her ipad that helps her to communicate clearly. Apparently, more frequently than anything else she types my name into her ipad with words like friend, girl, glasses, play, etc. Her father told me that she only remembers me from that time in her life. What? Why? What did I have any impact in her life? If anything, I learned from her about how beautiful God's creations are. Why does she remember me so well?
So, of course, I had a mini-breakdown inside my head about the meaning of life and the role of people in each other's lives. If you're still reading and to make a long story even longer, I sat with Hannah for a good hour and talked with her about a few things. She braided my hair and held my hand just like she used to. She stared at me for a good ten minutes. She knew just who I was but she was confused as to why I wasn't the same 10 year old. It was honestly one of the coolest things that have happened to me in a while. Guys, I cried. I rarely cry. I guess this just was a big testament to me of the impact we have on other people's lives that we have no idea about, which is something that I have been thinking about so much lately.
Yeah. That's the trip. I am home now. Don't ask me how I feel about being here in Greensboro because I still don't know. Sunshine and peace to all.
