Home for the Holidays

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to say that I did it! I took my last exam. I packed up everything I needed for winter break. My dad came up and we loaded (and later unloaded) the car. And I am pleased to say that I am home!

It’s truly a wonderful thing to be home. For those of you who follow this blog, you know how much I love being home. I love my family and friends. I love having the break from school. And really, I love home. I’m one of those people who sets up roots and loves a place fully, which is what I’ve done with Mystic.

Granted, Mystic is really Mystic and Groton and sometimes for fun we throw in Waterford and New London. But to me it’s the place where I grew up and love coming back to. Today Mom and I went out shopping and went to my favorite local restaurant for lunch. It was great to be there because we’re regulars and in its own way just going there is like coming home.

And, to make everything better and add to the winter excitement, there’s snow! By morning it’s likely that it’ll be that slushy kind of gross stuff we get here by the coast, but right now there’s snow. Which I just happen to think is lovely.

I also want to add that today marks the one year anniversary of the Newtown shootings. One year ago today so many things changed. Little things and the big picture changed. Lives were changed. Policies were changed. And I could sit here and tell you about where I was and what I was doing and everything else, but I don’t think that’s what’s most important. What’s most important is to remember that 26 lives were lost that day. We can never forget that.

That’s all for now. I promise to keep you posted one the goings on of my winter break, the exciting and (what will probably be) the mundane. Thanks for reading!

BrittanyM

Today

Sorry for the not so exciting title. Apparently my powers of creativity are failing me. I also initially thought today was Monday, had a great title, and then realized today was Tuesday. Clearly I’m struggling with my days of the week a little bit.

For me today was a simple day, but it wasn’t a simple day all around the country. An enormous tornado tore through Oklahoma yesterday, destroying areas near Oklahoma City and leaving too many people dead. It’s the type of thing that people hope will never happen, but yesterday it did. Already help and donations are pouring into the devastated areas, and I hope that continues. What especially warmed my heart was to see that “We are Newtown” T-shirts were being shipped to Oklahoma for people who have no clothing beyond what they were wearing when the tornado came through. When the Newtown shooting happened back in December the relief poured in in buckets and near immediately, and it’s nice to see that paid forward.

In happier news my internship is going well, I rediscovered the floor of my bedroom today, and my first story will appear in next week’s issue of the Mystic River Press. All of these things are exciting on their own, and put together they’re that much more exciting. To add to that happiness the weather is finally becoming nice here by the shore, my brother has an awards ceremony this week, and on Thursday I get to have lunch with one of my best friends. Summer is shaping up to be busy but really nice so far, and I can’t wait to see what else it brings.

BrittanyM