It's time to reflect as I enjoy the last day of a four-day trip back home - and it was one heck of a trip. Let's start from the very beginning (a very good place to start)...
I know I'm home when I finally find someone to sympathize with and participate in my cranky old lady tirades: my sister. There are all sorts of sayings about why God created sisters; my sister was created to listen to me rant - and to refrain from judging me about it. Sadly for her, she takes the brunt of ALL my whining, complaining, etc. Lucky for me, she doesn't think twice about telling me to shut it. And you don't disobey a command from Erin Buehler unless you want the death glare (and that'll shut you up right quick). Seriously, though, the best person to come home to is Erin Buehler, and I'm glad she was the first face I saw when I got home Thursday night.
Of course, one of the first places I like to visit when I'm home is the local watering hole. It makes for good quality time with my dad, I know I'll see an uncle or cousin or six, and I can always count on my childhood pal, TJ, to join me (And, seriously, what else do you do in a one-blinky-stoplight-town? Don't judge people; we don't have your fancy coffee shops or restaurants around these parts. There's nowhere else to convene.) Within two hours of arriving home on Thursday night, I finished a final paper and got my rear to the bar (oh yeah - in case you didn't know, my semester is over). Walking up to the entrance, I saw a dark silhouette making his way to his truck: it was my godfather and uncle, Crash. Like I said: I know I'll see an uncle EVERY TIME I go. It wasn't tough to convince him to join us inside, and by the end of the night, I had seen another uncle, been told I was the clone of my mother, and got a few free drinks from a man who's practically family - Pickles.
The next morning, I returned to Ada to visit my Weber Hall Family: the folks of admissions and financial aid at Ohio Northern University. Walking up to that building still makes the butterflies in my stomach really flutter. When I go back, it's like going home. I spent more than five years in that building and made one of my dearest friends within the first few months that I worked there. It was her last day on the job at ONU, and we celebrated with the whole "family" around the conference room table, enjoying the delicious eats of a classic Weber Hall carry-in. On Sunday, I returned to Ada to attend ONU's commencement. Many of my most favorite recruits were graduating, and for many of them, their families hold special places in my heart, too. I'll tell you what: if you want a job that is super rewarding, help students enroll in college. Four years later, they're walking across a stage, and you're all misty-eyed in the audience. Then, you meet up with them afterward only to find misty-eyed moms and dads who are so grateful for the little role you played in getting their sons and daughters to this day. And then the waterworks REALLY commence.
Friday night was an historic evening: all four Buehler siblings are over 21, and we enjoyed our first round of drinks together. If you've ever met all four of us, you know that we're all VERY different and also VERY similar. Andy claims to be the smartest (which, of course, came up on Friday night; yeah, yeah, you have the highest ACT score in the fam, and now my whole blogging public knows it. Congrats.), Erin is the sassiest (in a good way), Ben is actually the smartest (sorry, Andy, but, c'mon, the kid wrote a chapter book as an adolescent and is currently learning Japanese in preparation for his trip abroad - let's be real), and I'm the kookiest (and the only blonde). Our night ended at the local watering hole, at which there was one point in the evening when about 7 of the 10 people sitting at the bar were Buehlers. We saw uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors from down the road, kids we used to babysit, people who used to babysit us: it was a good time.
I managed to see all my grandparents this weekend. If you ever wondered what makes me so "unique" (or whatever you call it), you should meet these folks. Grandpa Wolfe can spin a tale about his family that's longer than a summer day; he remembers details like it's nobody's business (so former coworkers: this is how I remembered all sorts of minutiae about my recruits). Grandma Wolfe is creative and industrious in her crafting creations; I can credit a lot of my own creativity to the craft projects I used to do with her. And Grandma Buehler is your typical, sweet Grandma whose kind and nurturing guise masks the sassy comments she'll make at you when you're playing a four-hour game of cards (which we did last night. Take note Stacie: FOUR HOURS on ONE GAME of Bitch. We need to create a correlation chart with variables of fun and hours played. We were definitely a few standard deviations from the mean on that one.)
So it's my last six hours in Ohio (for about a month), and I'm looking forward to lunch with my mom and a little reunion with two members of my HOBY family this afternoon. Family is everywhere people, and THEY contribute to who you are. There are little pieces of my parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends that shine in everything I do and everything I am. If you're one of these people, thanks for making me a better me. And thanks for making me cry while typing this (seriously, though, I cry about everything, so don't feel bad).
Peace, love, and do-re-mi--
Emily
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