Lessons Learned

My nephew is one of the most resourceful kids I know.  He will find a way to do or get what he wants no matter what you do to try and stop him.

My family will get along if there is good, home-cooked food in front of them.

I'd rather be exhausted from being so busy at school than bored anywhere else.

Look before I lean to grab something out of the car, otherwise I will slam my head into the car so hard that I bruise my scalp.

I need to stick to pre-sliced bread, as evidenced by the lovely gashes on my thumb from trying to cut a bagel.

There is actually a thing as too much sleep.

Waking up at 5:30 is worth it if I can make my mom's workload lighter.

Girlfriends really do help keep me sane, even when they're not physically with me.

God uses people to speak to me, both my friends and complete strangers.

Reading can actually be...*gasp* FUN!

A period of time that has passed can feel both extremely long and blink-of-an-eye short at the same time.

I am far more like my mom and grandma than I care to admit sometimes.

Nothing makes my heart melt quite like a tackle hug from Blake man.

Old habits die hard.

But really, the biggest lesson I learned during this Christmas break is that this place is not my home anymore. For the first time, the entire time I've been here, I've felt like I was just visiting.  Campbell is my home, at least for now.  I was struggling for a bit feeling like I was abandoning my mom, but a friend made me realize that this is just a part of life.  I'm getting to the point where I have to take care of myself more than I'm used to doing so because my future depends on it.  I have my own life now, outside of this family, outside of this house, outside of this town, and that's not something to feel guilty about or apologize for.

And that's what I've learned during this Christmas vacation.