Concrete Jungle

Back in November Bryan received the Price Scholarship from the MBA program at OU.  This scholarship sends six students to New York City for the summer to take classes at NYU and work at an internship.  He has an internship at Blue Heron Research Partners and is living in the NYU graduate dorms. It is really an awesome opportunity and I know Bryan is learning so much.  BUT this means we are spending the summer apart. This stinks... a lot.  Like A LOT! I really don't like it. Nope, not at all.  Okay now that you know how much I don't like it, I will tell you that there are some good aspects of our current situation:

I have fallen in love with my plants. I don't have a dog, cat, or even a fish to take care of for the summer while Bryan is gone. So I take care of my plants. Yes, this is pathetic. But I just ate my first tomato last week!

I am learning to kill spiders. I do not like spiders. I do not really like bugs period (except ladybugs..I like them). All my life when a spider has entered into my personal space I have yelled and someone has killed it for me. Well, not anymore. Now when I see a spider my heart starts racing and I am instantly filled with anger that Bryan has left me for the summer.  But then I go and get the bug gun and shoot it. Then I stomp and stomp and stomp until I know it is really dead. At this point I get several tissues (need a thick layer) to pick up the guts and all eight legs. Then I flush it down the toilet just to make sure it leaves the house. Once I see it go all the way down I do a little dance like I just killed a dragon.

Bryan has had the opportunity to play golf on some awesome golf courses. I will let him blog about these experiences later because he will do a much better job!

And the best part about Bryan spending the summer in New York:  I get to visit him! I went June 16-21 and am going back July 1-5.  I had an amazing time with him on my last trip.  We ate a lot, shopped a lot, walked a lot, and spent a lot of money.  Some of my favorites were:

-The Met

-Central Park

-Stanton Social

-Baked by Melissa

-Mister Softee

But of course the best part was the time we spent time just being together.  I loved every moment I got to hold his hand and see his sweet smile.  It really blows my mind how much more in love with him I am everyday.  I thought when we got married there was no way I could love him any more than I did, but I was so wrong.  I guess that is the best part about love, you can't run out.  God created us out of love and to live lives of love.  Thank you God for the amazing opportunities you have placed in our lives, for the beautiful plants in our yard, for courage, for generous and caring people, and for loving each of us just the way we are (even the spiders-sorry about that by the way).

The Bridge Builder

June is my dad's month. He has three special days in June, therefore we just call it his month. My mom, sister and I spend all month fretting about what to buy him and how to celebrate.  We get all worked up and frustrated because every year we want to do something great and in the end we just get him a shirt, tie, random gadget, etc. And we end up just eating dinner at a nice restaurant. We always say, "Well next year we will do something better."  My sweet dad always says, "Girls, just spending time with you is the best gift." We roll our eyes and continue to feel like failures.

This June was almost like every other June, but different.  My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on June 1st.  As usual they talked and talked about doing something big, but ended up eating at Legends.  Their wedding reception was at Legends and it has always been a special place for them.  My dad also bought my mom a new (and much larger) diamond for her ring and told her that "his love had grown." So sweet!

June 8th was my dad's birthday.  The normal fretting about how to celebrate occurred and I finally offered to cook dinner at my house.  Kellie came over and helped me prepare steaks, asparagus, potatoes, salad and banana pudding. (Banana pudding is my dad's favorite- also my Poppy Gene's) It all turned out pretty yummy and we had a great evening. I could see it in my dad's eyes how much he enjoyed a relaxed evening with our family. 

June 20th was Father's Day. I totally blew it because I was in New York visiting Bryan and missed the whole day. But a couple nights later we went to Deep Fork and had a wonderful meal.  We had a great time as a family laughing and crying (we do this in my family- a lot!) We talked about a special woman my parents met a couple months ago that passed away earlier that day.  My dad said after only knowing the woman for a few moments she told him that he was "a bridge builder."  My dad was very taken by her comments to him.  I have been thinking about "the bridge builder" and how incredibly right she was.  My dad has built many "bridges" for so many people.  He is so selfless and has built my mom, sister and I some pretty incredible bridges.  We have had so many opportunities to follow our hearts and go where we believe God is leading us.  Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me with an incredible dad. Thank you dad, for building me so many bridges and giving me the freedom and encouragement to cross when I am ready. I love you.