A Long Road Trip to Virginia

Sal and I are no stranger to road trips, especially long ones... we've even been as North as Canada, but when my brother, Kyle, chose Virginia as his destination for medical school, we didn't realize quite how far Virginia was until we started our drive there. Seven hours long. Usually Sal and I are good with car rides together... we find things to talk about, music to listen to, and when I get bored enough, I bust out a book, or this time study materials for my CPT exam. It gives Sal some silence while driving, something he enjoys doing wholeheartedly. I am never the one to drive these long trips, I'm never the one to drive in general. I drive enough to and from work each day, that I am grateful when someone else says they'll drive. 

We headed to Virginia bright and early, the day after Kyle had gone down with his girlfriend. My parents would be coming a few days later. It's a good thing we left earlier, because my brother's car had broken down and he needed to get to his first day of medical school somehow.  As soon as we got there we quickly found a place to eat, which ended up being a fast food restaurant, but it was probably the cheapest I've ever been to, with much better quality food. Imagine that? I ended up with two chicken wraps for about $3. It satisfied us enough to help us through car shopping. He did not purchase a car that day though, even though we visited about four different dealers, even hopping in the car with one to go to another lot. We took the below photo as proof that we were alive at one point during the drive (haha).  Off we went to dinner afterwards, to a local place that turned out to be delicious!

The next day, Sal woke up early to bring my brother to his medical school orientation. We were all so excited, that none of us could go back to sleep, so we decided to start our day. We had planned, the night before, to get my brother a fish tank, for many reasons: a) he would probably be lonely when we left b) he loves fish c) it doubles as a night light d) it's calming. All great things, we thought, for someone who was going through medical school. Sure, he'd have to take care of them, and clean the tank, but it would give him an easy break from studying. We wandered around Petco & Petsmart, and eventually chose the tank that would host his new fish. Sal set it all up for him, so that when we went to pick him up from school, he'd open the door of his apartment, and see it first thing. We decided against filling it with fish, because we wanted him to be able to pick out which fish he wanted. Let me just tell you, he had a feeling that we were going to get him a fish tank, but he didn't know which day it would be, and he was just as surprised as we thought he'd be! I couldn't keep my mouth shut in the car, I was so nervous I was going to spill the beans on our way home. Thankfully I didn't, and the look on his face when he opened the door was pure happiness. 

I also made chocolate chip cookies for him, because who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? I don't think there has to ever be a reason to make them! We found ourselves wandering a fish store later that night, looking for the right fish to put into the tank. It was funny watching him go through aisle after aisle of fish, trying to find the right ones. We brought them home, named them, and placed them into the water. They looked right at home, and it definitely made his place a little more homey. 

The next morning, Sal dropped Kyle off at school again. This time, we took our time getting ready, and found ourselves out the door, in search of a 'waterfall.' We found a trail, one that we thought would be a nice hike to this awesome waterfall. Five miles later, we realized it was not an awesome waterfall like we thought, and that we were going to have to walk the five miles back to the car. I have never walked that far in my life, and my whole body was exhausted. We were all ready to give up, but that would have gotten us no where, and we would still have to walk back at the end of the day. We didn't pick Kyle up from school this time, in fear that we'd be late, and he'd be there waiting for us. Instead, my parents got down that day, and we had them pick him up. It turns out that we made it home before them, and we quickly showered, knowing we had to be ready for Kyle's family picnic with the medical school.

We were ready, and waiting when they finally got home. It turns out that my brother had to stay later, and so after he got ready, we piled in my jeep and headed to the football stadium, where they were holding a family picnic. We piled our plates full of burgers, hotdogs, potato salad, and watermelon, and found ourselves a table. The weather was perfect, and the atmosphere of the stadium was grand. We talked together, and eventually found ourselves talking to one of Kyle's future professors. It was funny, and when we headed out, the photographer even snapped a few pictures of us, which came out beautiful. The night could not have gone better, at least not in my opinion. 

The next day was rainy. My parents brought my brother, and Sal and I found ourselves wanting to explore all the Virginia had to offer, in our case, it was wine. We found a wine trail, Bedford Wine Trail, that was actually farther than we thought it was, and ventured off. Kyle's girlfriend, Michele, just wanted to sit home and relax, and frankly, I don't blame her after our nine mile hike the day before. So it was time for another adventure. When we arrived at the first little countryside winery, Hickory Hill Winery, our hopes were set high. The guy that owned the place was hilarious, and guessed our ages immediately [side note: no one ever guesses our ages correctly, so we were stunned]. He was also spot on in describing me as a person, so much so that I thought he was diagnosing me with something! We enjoyed the wine, and absolutely loved the pineapple sangria that he let us try. We picked up our wine trial passports, and were on the way to the next place. 

Ramulose Ridge Vineyards was the next closest winery on our list, and we headed there. It had beautiful views, but the wine wasn't all that great in my opinion, unfortunately. We left quickly, wondering why these wineries didn't have crackers or something to pick on while visitors tasted the wines. We still powered through to the next winery, White Rock Vineyard. This winery had spectacular views, and if we had brought our own lunch, we probably could have eaten it in the amazing eat in area overlooking the wineries. The wine here wasn't terrible, at least not to me - Sal did not enjoy it. I actually liked one enough to buy a bottle, but found myself wondering why once Sal mentioned that they sort of tasted like cleaning products. 

The next winery, Peaks of Otter Winery, was probably the worst wine I had ever tasted. We had to pay to try three wines, or all of them, which was over 25 different wines (uh, no thank you). We paid to try three, and quickly noticed that all of the wines were so insanely sweet, that we couldn't stomach to drink them. If the person wasn't drunk after trying all 25 wines, they would surely be in the bathroom for the rest of the day. The only cool part of the winery was the map that hung on the wall, and you were able to put a push pin into the town that you were coming from. It was awesome to see where all the visitors had come from, how far they had traveled. 

It wasn't until we were going to go to the last winery that we finally stopped and got a sandwich from WaWa, which was about the only place we could find. It definitely wasn't a smart idea to wait that long; I was feeling good, too good. We headed to the last winery, LeoGrande Winery, which wasn't disappointing like we thought it would be. And we enjoyed it, as well as the people we were with. One group of women had even followed us to all of them. We lost them when we went to one of the wineries, but met back up in the end. We realized that there was one winery that wasn't open, and we hoped that we would still be able to complete our passport and receive the free wine glass at the end! The informational center that held the power to check out our passports and hand us these glasses closed at 5, and we had to make it there in time. We literally arrived at 4:59, just as they were closing up. We begged the guy that we would be quick, and that we were only there for the ... he guessed it, "glasses?" As soon as we walked out and got back into the car, Sal and I clinked our glasses, having had a pretty successful day. 

The following day was Kyle's big day, his White Coat Ceremony! We all got ready bright and early, and headed to the church where it was being held. Speaker after speaker had nothing but motivating and inspiring things to say, and told quite amazing stories. One by one each future doctor went onto the stage and said their name and where they were from. It was incredible how far some of these individuals were coming from. Prior to the ceremony, they listed fun facts about the class, who was married, where they went to school, what their undergrad degree was in. Being the first medical students at this university would be groundbreaking. They will all leave a legacy, and at that moment I could not have been prouder of my little brother. He would be leaving his mark on the school, on the world. It's crazy to think how fast time had truly gone; I swear I was just poking fun at him when he was younger and tried to hang out with my friends and I. We're much closer now, which I think is why it killed me that he was moving so far away, but I knew it was for the best. I look up to him, probably more than he realizes. He deserves all of his dreams to come true, and I will always be right there pushing him along. When he thinks he can't study another word, I will be there telling him he can. I know he can - he can do anything he sets his mind to. He has accomplished so much, and even though he's not anywhere near the end of this part of his journey, he's got so much determination that he will not let himself fail. It's truly inspiring. 

As soon as we got back to his place, we popped open a bottle of champagne that I had brought just for this special occasion! We ate lunch, shopped for necessities for Kyle, and then got ready for dinner. It was a celebratory dinner, but there underlying sadness... we'd all be leaving the next day, and while we were happy that Kyle would be officially starting his journey to becoming a doctor, we probably wouldn't be seeing him for months. Still, we chatted over drinks and delicious pizza [who would've thought that you'd find that in Virginia?!]. Of course, we ended the night with dessert, because really, there's no better way. We left the next day, with more tears than anyone could handle. It wasn't goodbye though, it was just see you later. 

It was one unforgettable trip, one unforgettable moment, one unforgettable start. 

It's Not Goodbye, It's See You Later

Now I've been to just about every kind of party there is - birthday, bridal shower, baby shower, holidays, just because, and my parents have held most of these themselves. However, what we have never threw was a going away party... specifically for my brother. Even though my brother went to away to college for his undergrad, he was only two hours away, and we knew he'd be home some weekends, and that we'd get to go visit him. This time was different; he was off to medical school, a school that is about 7 hours away from us. We didn't make a huge deal over the party. We invited close family and friends who we knew would want to say "see you later." My dad picked up plenty of boxes of pizza, and everyone brought drinks. We turned up the music, and the night went on.

I, of course, had to work that day, but I went in as early as I could, so I could make it home on time, before people started to arrive. When my dad walked in with the pizza, I walked in with him. Cousins came that we rarely see, aunts, uncles, and friends... all people who care so much about my brother and although sad to see him go, excited for him to embark on this next adventure... the next part of his journey to become a doctor. We shared stories that made each other laugh, and ate until our stomachs couldn't take another bite... but we weren't sure if that was because we were laughing so hard, or we really did eat too much pizza. It didn't matter at that point.

I kept catching glances of my brother, smiling, and not that fake smile that you catch people making every now and then, not the kind of smile that you can tell hurts people to be making because they're not happy, but I saw a pure, genuine smile that let me know he wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. I didn't want to think about the next couple of days, when he'd be packing up all of his things. I didn't want to think about his empty room. I didn't want to think about the fact that my brother, the boy who I grew up with for 22 years, would be leaving me to go to a different state. All of that stuff could wait until we dropped him off, until we drove away.

Summer Birthdays

This summer we celebrated my brother's 22nd birthday, and his girlfriend's 21st.

Her 21st brought up feelings of sadness for how fast time has passed since my own 21st, but I was also happy that she was experiencing it herself. It's one exciting birthday, and I was glad I was able to celebrate with her, my brother, and her friends and family. We went out to a new bar and it turned out to be such a fun night. I didn't feel 3 years older than her, and yet I didn't feel as if I was 21 again. There's that saying, "you're only as old as you feel," and I can tell you that I do not feel old. Like they say, age is just a number! Cliche saying after cliche saying, but it's the truth. We danced all night, and I still woke up the next morning for work. 

A few weeks later, we celebrated my brother's 22nd birthday, but nothing too crazy. Once I got out of work, I met my family at a local pizza restaurant for drinks and pizza. We kept thinking about how fast the past year went, and how he would be leaving us for medical school in just a few short weeks. We headed home to sing to him with cupcakes my mom had made, and I may have shed a few tears, realizing this may be the last birthday that we celebrate with him at home. 

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies. Each day seems to tick slowly by, and then before we know it a year has gone by and we're celebrating yet another birthday.

And Then We Celebrated...

Once I was showered and cleaned off after the Dirty Girl Mud Run, I was thrown into party mode. My brother's graduation party was that afternoon, and I had to help with the set up, or as much as I could in the short amount of time before the party started. Thankfully I had baked cookies for the party the night before, and just had to pick up the cake. Our backyard was decorated and set up perfectly by my dad, uncle, and brother. The food was being cooked in the smoker out front, and Sal quickly took over the grill when he arrived. We had quite the spread, and as guests arrived, they dug right in. 

I ran around catering to my grandma and her older friends, making sure they had the appetizers, and burgers when they came off the grill. I hadn't even realized I was doing it, until one of them mentioned how thankful they were. I made sure that I spent time at each table, talking to family members and friends, and making sure to have fun too! We had corn hole going in the front, as well as ladder ball - which was being taken over by my younger cousins, who were all enjoying it thoroughly. 

We ran from the front yard, down the hill to the backyard, soaking up the beautiful weather that we had and every drop of laughter we heard, especially from one of our youngest cousins. The party was in full swing. To make it even more memorable, my mom had a couple of things up her sleeves. First thing was her speech for my brother, for her son that would be leaving for med school in just a few short weeks. I am shocked that she made it through the entire thing, and thankful that I was able to catch the touching words she spoke, on video. 

Time seemed to slip away in the night, as we ate and ate, and turned up the music with each hour. By night fall, the party was in full swing and the bonfire was burning high. Dessert was brought to the dessert table, and guests helped themselves to the candy thrown about. 

My mom wasn't the only one with tricks up her sleeve though, and my brother, Kyle soon found that out. We were all talking outside by the fire, enjoying our cake, when something came over me. I  whispered to my friends and cousins, and began walking over, slowly, to my brother. Before I knew it, I smashed my piece of cake into his face. Within seconds he ran after me, and I could not remember the last time I had laughed that hard. We ran around the yard as if we were little kids again, picking on one another. I was laughing so hard that I had to stop, and that's when he got me back, with whatever cake he could pull off his face. My hair was covered, but I didn't even care. We're pretty good sports when it comes to things like this, and everyone else thought it was hysterical! I love my brother, and that one memory will last my lifetime. 

After I washed my self off for the second time that day, my mom pulled out her final surprise - the lighting of lanterns, in memory of all those who could not be there to celebrate - especially my three of my grandparents, and aunt. My mom even included those relatives of other family members who had come, and stayed when night came. We lit them, and my mom said yet another great, heartfelt speech for all those who had gone before us. As they floated into the dark sky, we held on to one another, and hoped even for a second, our message was heard. We couldn't help but stare, long after we saw their light fade. Unfortunately, now Sal has a scar on his neck that will remind me of this night forever - WARNING: for anyone that lights memory lanterns, do not stick your head underneath it while you are lighting it and waiting for it to fill with air. 

As more family started to leave, we gathered inside and took the last remaining pictures. When everyone had left, my brother made sure to get the piece of cake that he never got to eat - and ate it out of a colander. It was definitely, one memorable night - a night we celebrated my brother. 

Congratulations Kyle, you deserve all the success in the world. Keep making us proud. 

Four Years Goes By Fast

Graduation is a day that calls for reflection, and yet it propels you into the future, and forces you to focus on moving on. When that day came for my brother, I couldn't help reflecting on my own college experience, which was nothing like my brother's, who had gone away to college. I do not regret my decisions, but I marveled at how fast time had flown. Just two years ago, I was the one on that stage graduating, and now it was my brother's turn.

My family packed up their suitcases, and drove the two hours to Pennsylvania. Since my brother had technically graduated the previous semester, we had to stay in a hotel, which I didn't mind at all, considering it was the same hotel we had stayed at just four years before for family weekend, when it all started. Before we settled in, we decided to head to the wall on campus. Here we had taken a picture when my brother was a freshman, and now that he was graduating, I knew that we needed to compare how much we had grown since then. And while there isn't much about us that is different physically, emotionally and mentally we have grown, especially my brother who had gone through four years of biology, chemistry, and physics in hopes to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.

We headed over to the hotel where we settled in and unpacked our bags, and I took a moment to enjoy our spectacular room that our hotel offered, of Pennsylvania. When I could no longer handle the beauty, I got ready for dinner with the family, Michele, and Sal. We ate and ate, all the while enjoying each other's presence, looking forward to the coming days. Once we returned to the hotel, my mom and I grabbed our bottles of wine we had brought, and poured ourselves a glass, or two. We had plans to sit outside by the fire pit, but that unfortunately did not go as planned. There was a broken piece in the fire pit, and they were not working. We weren't happy about it, but that certainly didn't stop us from breathing in the spring air as the sun went down. It might've been the wine that helped us relax, or it just might've been that we were happy to be there.

The following day we had all morning and afternoon to wander around the stomping grounds that were my brother's, the place he called home for four years. And against my will, we went shopping. I love exploring new towns, and so I dealt with the shopping in hopes that we'd be able to capture incredible moments on my camera, and that we did.

We got back just in time to get ourselves ready for the night. We would be heading to the presidential dinner for the students and their families. We were excited to party, and just have a good time, celebrating my brother and all his hard work, plus who could turn down an open bar? Before we headed to the dinner, we got dinner together, since we had heard that there would only be drinks and appetizers. We walked to the restaurant from our hotel; the views were beautiful, and though we didn't eat outside, we went straight to the balcony when we were finished.

Realizing we were going to be late, we paid our bill and left. We arrived to the dinner and were able to choose which way to go - the more laid back room with tables and chairs to sit, and lower music, or to the PARTY room with tables to stand at and just about the loudest music you've ever heard. You can only guess which room we picked. 

Sal may or may not have walked out with multiple balloons last night and shoved them into the trunk, with too many people as it was. When we got back to the hotel, we were amped up from the night we had just had, and did not want to go to sleep. We ate our leftovers from dinner, and sat around and talked. Eventually my brother brought us all to tears, and what was said in that hotel room will stay with me for the rest of my life. Needless to say, family comes first, and will always. 

The following morning we had to be up and ready for Kyle's big day. His graduation was at a huge center and would feature every graduate of 2014. I don't think we had any idea how long of a morning this would be, but we were all excited. My uncle and grandmother met us there, and you could tell that this made the day that much more special. 

We were seated, and as the students walked in, we had all of our eyes open, and started screaming as soon as we could all see Kyle. He didn't notice us at first, but eventually he saw his crazy family flailing their arms and screaming his name. The students say, and one by one they called each college, and each student, but grew antsy with each passing name. They announced every individual's name. It doesn't seem like it'd be a lot, but we grew tired, and insanely bored as we waited for my brother's name to be called. We ate our snacks, took tons of selfies, and tried to keep our eyes open (for my uncle this battle was lost). 

When Kyle's name was finally announced, all of our cameras were on, we were preparing to take video and pictures. They said his name, and we all went wild. He definitely could not hear us, but that didn't matter. We were all so proud of everything he had accomplished, and that he had finished his undergrad in 3.5 years, finally crossing the stage 4 years later. We listened to the speakers talk, and waited for their caps to be thrown up. They didn't throw them, but it didn't matter at that point. Sal and I rushed down the stairs as soon as the students were walking out, and waited for Kyle to appear and walk down as an official graduate. 

He was happy, anyone could see that, and we could not stop smiling. We headed out to lunch to celebrate, and even though the restaurant was packed with other graduates, and we waited a long, long time, it was worth it because it was delicious. As we cheered for Kyle, we clinked our glasses, and the smiles did not leave us as we ate our meals. Before we knew it, we were on our way home. Kyle was on to new and bigger adventures - medical school!

See those balloons? Those might have been the ones Sal took the previous night. We released them with all of our hopes and dreams for Kyle's bright, bright future.