A Week of Acting Like an Extrovert Will Almost Do an Introvert In...Almost

Wow. I'm not sure I can really summarize the happenings of the past week in one blog post. I saw more people and had more heart-to-heart conversations in the past week than I have had in the past month. It was good. And exhausting. But incredibly good.

Highlights:

• Garlic fries at Joe's Farm Grill
• Connecting deeply with my parents on Thursday night
• Getting time with my aunt on Friday morning (who knew you could have good conversation while in pursuit of teal, purple, green and orange licorice?)
• The look on my uncle's face when he saw that I had shown up for his surprise 40th birthday party
• Watching my cousins perform their Tahitian dances
• Sitting between my mom and her best friend (who also happens to be my second mom) during churching
• Seeing Lori Butler in her wedding dress once again at their Tucson reception
• Being cornered by Steve Yeakley at said reception - it turns out we both have the tactic at big parties like that to find someone we like and corner them...then it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming that we're in a room full of people.
• Time with Jesus...and Robin...at Starbucks
• Receiving incredible wisdom while having lunch with my Grandma Cynthia
• Giggling with Ariel
• Getting to sit at a table for several hours just talking to Mandi Barbieri (and Jason, too, when he wasn't helping the girls go down)
• Chicken, brie, and apple sandwiches with Bryce and Susan, two of my favorite people in the world
• The look on Simeon and Lydia's face when I showed up with their parents at school to pick them up
• Lydia telling me she had a secret for me, and then whispering into my ear, "I love you."
• Sitting in the Mazda dealership parking lot with Susan - somehow our best conversations often end up happening in the car
• Dinner with the Yeakleys...the food, the wine, the laughter, the sharing of hearts...it was so refreshing for my soul
• Seeing some of my Bible study girls again
• Last minute breakfast with the Butlers; so good that we didn't realize two and a half hours had passed by the time we were done
• And...the fact that I didn't have to leave Tucson by myself, but I got to drive back to San Diego with Robin.

I wish I had gotten more pictures, because there were some great picture moments. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of the party on Saturday, so I'm hoping to get some from my aunt and others who took some. And, the only ones I got from my time in Tucson were these at the reception:

I think I've commented a few times on this blog that relationships are hard. That is very true. But times like this past week are an incredible reminder of why they are so very worth the trouble.