Day 65: A Thanksgiving Post

my turkey brining the day and night before.

A wise woman once told me that I probably wouldn't realize that I was thousands of miles from home, or what I was doing there, or that I am stuck here for a lot longer until somewhere in the middle of November. (She was right.)
Things are starting to hit me. It's probably because one of the best holidays was just celebrated, and it happens to be American, and it happens to be about reflecting on what you are thankful for and for me a lot of those things happen to be back across the ocean.
I will list just a few things I am truly thankful for:
Country music
Warm covers
Functional legs
International friends that were willing to share a Thanksgiving feast with me and make the evening great
Family back home
Having people an ocean away that I care about enough to miss
Being American
& Thanksgiving leftovers.

So yeah, it's November, and I've been here for over 2 months! That's over 1/6 of my Aberdeen adventure over. But, even though I am not one to get homesick, there's a little baby pit in my stomach that longs to be with all those people back home, doing the things we'd usually be doing. (Black Friday shopping with Sam and Katie--scoring big deals and having big laughs, walking on the boardwalk and singing through the 12 days of Christmas with Taylor while eating ice cream cones even though it's too cold outside, hanging out with my parents and Johnny boy and eating my mom's homecookin', sleeping in my own bed, etc.)
But then it hits me, if I  had stayed home and not come to Aberdeen, it would have meant I would have made some other sort of life plan, and it wouldn't be the same anyways. I wouldn't just be a college kid coming home for Thanksgiving break. I might be a real person, contributing to the world as a working adult (writing that out makes me realize why I decided to do this instead). Where would I be IF? Weird. An unanswerable question, though.

Also, I decided I want to work for the National Park Service.


And, to end on a more important note, I've decided I can't choose just one country singer to be my husband. Because we have the heartthrob, Tim McGraw, an easy first pick. But there's also Josh Turner, whose perfect voice could melt the heart of Josef Stalin. Then I'm like, CRAP, what about cutie blue eye half smile baby Luke Bryan? And if you figure in the fact that a beard and a love for the beach can get me every time, plus writing lyrics that sing to my soul doesn't hurt, you also have to throw Zac Brown into the game.
Not choosing any one of them is the only logical thing to do. So I'll have them all, Thanks.
Don't tell their wives.

just two pics from my little walk/hike with the Carrolls last weekend.