Catch up

I feel like I am constantly "playing catch up" with this blog. But I am LOVING my life. Man, oh man, I don't think I'll ever say it enough... I am so unbelievably blessed.
Grad school is a weirdo stage of life. Monday-Thursday I feel like I am unbelievably young. I am by far the youngest teacher in my grade level. Not that it really needs to be pointed out, but I also apparently look young for my age. Several people react in surprise when I tell them I actually graduated from college in May, not high school. So I'm the baby teaching babies at Norwood. Then in the the college world that I'm still partly in, I feel so old. I'm in between the wonderful world of college life and the lame real world. But living in limbo has it perks. It really is the best of both worlds. I am getting the experiences of teaching without the pressure of totally messing up on my own :) And I'm teaching first grade and loving it. Which is something I never ever thought I'd say. I don't have to be a real grown up adult and figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life (although I already know...) like some of my friends are having to do right now. I still get to get the benefits of being in college- the community, the freedom, the football games, embracing the young life for one more year...
So life is good. Real good.

The roomies are babes.

Rainy days remind us of great promises

And even after the crazy, exhausting, draining, funny, emotional, unexpected adventure that was the Ironman, we are still saying life is good.

I am amazed by ALL the men and women who completed in the Ironman. Especially these five guys! Cheering them on from 4am to midnight was so fun! Seriously.

 

For example:

 And my favorite athlete. What a stud. So proud! (Does this count as PDA again? Who have I become?? Whoops.)

I'm thankful for a day spent cheering for strangers 95% of the time. Thankful for athleticism at its finest. Thankful for whoever figured out how to let spectators track athletes on their phones- genius. Thankful for new friends. Thankful for old friends (aka great neighbors) who know me and keep me calm and drive me 4 hours home at 1:30 in the morning. Thankful for mentor teachers who can see exhaustion and take it easy on me. Thankful for EMTs who pay attention. Thankful that 137.4 miles out of 140.6 is something to be incredibly proud of. Thankful that I know a guy who doesn't find his worth in completing an Ironman. Thankful again for those neighbors who make not funny moments hilarious. Thankful that not being remembered by someone who should definitely know you doesn't last forever and is a little tiny bit funny. Most of all thankful for good friends and good times and that Ironman side effects only last a week. 

After a slightly less than perfect week, this weekend was awesome.
On Friday THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS WON! More than just won, they dominated. I am SO pumped that football is back. GBO.
Saturday I spent the day watching football and parties for friends' birthdays. So thankful to have friends that I love celebrating.
Boomsday was last night. I'm pretty sure it was the most memorable Boomsday of all time. We went to the lake. And got hit by a giant storm. But that was only a short delay in our lake fun! Napping on the ride home was the perfect preparation for the real event of the weekend. I totally forgot to mention that my bff came back from New York this weekend and completely surprised a whole bunch of us. He was nice enough to invite Becca, Nathan, Grant, and me out on his boat to watch the fireworks from the water. Which is hands-down the best place to watch. It was perfect! ...Until the monsoon started. We did the best we could to squeeze together under the tiny boat covering. We laughed and shivered and sang Rocky Top at the top of our lungs. Then power walked back to the car afterward. Although my runny nose and sore throat aren't fans of last night, I've got to say that it was memorable night and so very fun!