Gobble It Up

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      Yesterday I hopped on an airplane and flew to Huntsville, AL where I am spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my lovely extended family. I was oh-so *thankful* to fly out yesterday since, from what I have heard, flying out today was kukulafrandandolly (aka crazy). Yesterday was a bit hectic too, and if you live on the east-coast, you know why. The wind was blustering, the rain was torrential-ing, and the coldness was freezing.

      When I left Charlotte Intl Airport, I thought we were in for a bumpy ride. The pilot predicted it, and anyone with eyes could see that we were headed up into the dark masses of storm. The first ten-fifteen minutes of the flight was rocky for sure with babies wailing and flight attendant's pacing. *Thankfully,* it was a pretty empty flight so I had no one sitting in front of me nor directly next to me. I got pretty comfortable and since take-off is my favorite part of flying, I sat back and tried to enjoy it all. I love the feeling when the wheels break from the runway and your stomach lifts up with the plane. But something pretty incredible happened mid-flight. And here are my sappy words to tell ya'll about it:

      When we dashed through the atmosphere and burst through the clouds, the sun was shining. That's right. The sun. I hadn't seen it all day, for the darkness consumed the sky since morning. But when we emerged, the sun made the clouds glow. We were no longer in the gray shadow and turbulent haze. No, now we were above it all and looking down on the vast spans of rolling thunder clouds. Looking out the window, I saw something spectacular. From this view, it felt like we were flying over snowy mountains speckled only by shadow. Above us the blue atmosphere bled into a rainbow which ended in violet waves and white foam. The horizon gave one last kiss as we started to descend, and the glimmer of hopeful sunshine diminished as we dove back into the gray. The last gap of orange began to close until there was nothing but a thin, straight line splitting the black above with the gray below. With a blink of an eye, it was gone; and we continued the rocky descent back into the storm. But for those twenty minutes, I am so *thankful*. It brought peace onto the flight and peace into my heart as I prepared to spend some quality time with family.

      I know it might be a bit ridiculous to talk about my hour and a half flight for a Thanksgiving post, but I wanted to convey the point that this time of year, you have to be thankful for all the little things in life as well. The beautiful sky was my little gift, and I don't feel any less blessed for that than I am for everything else in life.

      So for tomorrow on Thanksgiving, don't just gobble up the turkey, but gobble up all the little moments that make life precious.

                                                                    Sincerely,
                                                                              Me

Aspiring To...

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      I have exactly one month until I will be graduated from college and until I will be home. What?!?! Crazy, right? My last exam in on December 13th, which means that on December 14th, I will be at home, in bed, and probably taking a nap right about now. With time whizzing by, I've really had to think about what I will be doing with my time come mid-December. I've got a few plans up my sleeves -you all will probably be the last to know what they are -but I can tell you some plans.

      As I mentioned in this post, I am really excited to read all the books that have been piling up over the last few months. I started to make a list of particular books which I will want to read first out of the many. Here are some of the *must reads* on my daily-growing list:

• Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
• Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
• Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky (and basically everything Dostoevsky)
• Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
• Bobcat - Rebecca Lee
• The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
• Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak

      Quite a list, I know, but I have very legitimate reasons for each and every one. Like I said, the list is forever changing and growing and I am very open to suggestions. Please, if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment. In case ya'll haven't picked up on it  yet, I am a bit of a reading freak and I could spend all day every day doing that -the one thing I know for sure I love and am good at.
                                                                  
                                                                         Sincerely,
                                                                                  Me