Final Memories of South Carolina

It is the morning of the day that we leave. I sit here on the bed I've called mine for the past two and a half weeks, and think of the days gone by. Oh, they have just gone so fast. I cannot even remember everything, and it seems to have gone by in a whir. Everything seems jumbled together in an exciting mix of movies, hogs, work, play, swimming, games, laughter, smiles, spinning in the dark, basketball, volleyball... So much swirled together, making up the essence of this trip. Oh, laughter... Lots of laughter. I love laughing, and use every chance I get to laugh or smile. Unfortunately I have thrice choked on water and spit it across the room. Believe me, I'm not proud of that, and I don't think its funny. I am quite embarressed by that fact, and wish it never happened. For real.

All the little memories make up a good deal of what happened, and I am sorry we must come home. The memories brush across my thoughts quickly, and pass again. Cupcakes, apple crisp, cookies... In the dark, watching movies... Playing volleyball, basket ball, Catch Phrase... Watching two hogs get castrated, catching a hog, walking it over to another pen... Cooking dinner, eating it, going out to eat... Riding in old rickety minivans and falling backwards in my seat, my skirt flying up to my undergarments, because the seat is not fastened into the floor... Sleep, late nights, late dinners... Cooking okra for the first time, and feeling happy because the man of the house says no one makes it better except for his mom and Tai, his great niece... Watching the guys lift weights and wrestle, the bantering back and forth, the washing dishes late at night... Staying up so late we welcome Aunt Penny home from work on the night shift, and greeting the man of the house before he goes out to his truck (he's a trucker) at three in the morning... Gathering apples in the early morning with special people, throwing the worm-eaten and slightly imperfect apples in a bucket, nibbling any one that looks tasty, and putting the bigger ones in another bucket for Zach's mom; the bad ones for the hogs... Riding home from church in the back of a pickup truck, truly a glorious thing... Driving the truck... Playing with the sweet children... Swings... Swimming... Laughing... Laughing... Laughing...

Isn't there more to tell than that? Oh, there should be. A lot has happened, it seemed. I feel like I have learned much, and grown up much. And... Oh, it has been a good time. It has given me joy and strength to go on... Things that have happened, lessons that have been taught, Sundays, have worked their way deep into my heart... The singing... Oh, the singing...

There is much. Much to say and much to convey. But I do not have time. Today we must go to the farmer's market, get some stuff to finish the animal shelter, finish the animal shelter, wash Zach's truck, load it up, make and eat dinner, then... Nap, and leave. As Zach said last night, its gonna be a short day. Very short.