Another Year of Adventures

I rang in the New Year last night with my little brother and his girlfriend.  That's how weird of a year 2015 has been, and probably how weird of a year 2016 will be!  (Don't get me wrong, she's cool, and my little brother is a gentleman, but if you know me, and if you know my little brother... me being a third wheel to him and his girlfriend wasn't something anyone probably foresaw for our family!)

2015 had its moments though!  First of all, I got to become an aunt again!  On Sunday, January 18, I woke up to a text message: a picture of a baby's face.  So I called my brother.  And then I jumped in the car.  And four hours later while my dad and I headed for the hospital to meet the newest little Pancake, I called my boss.  "So, I'm in Nebraska right now.  I am prepared to drive back in time for work in the morning, but..."  Because my daycare is awesome, I got to stick around and fall in love with the little guy in person from day one!

Also in 2015, my older nephew finally came to the point where he remembers me between visits!  Now when I come home, he gets excited and runs to me for a hug instead of looking at me like I'm a weirdo for a few hours before having anything to do with me.

At the end of February, I went to ReWrite: The Ragged Edge, a writer's conference co-hosted by Ted Dekker.  Besides being crazy exciting to road trip to Texas to learn about writing/publishing from Ted Dekker, I got to hang out with more fellow writers than I've ever personally known for two days (which granted sent me into an introvert coma, but it was good for me!), gain some insight into the publishing industry, and create a game-plan for my writing career.  That game plan will probably never move as quickly as I'd like it to, as it certainly hasn't while juggling school and a full-time job at the same time, but we're getting there.  All in God's time!

I was blessed to have my mom come with me to be my wheel-man (... person...) down to Texas, but on the return trip I dropped her off with her parents in Oklahoma City and drove back to Iowa City solo: being the longest trip I've ever taken solo, and one of my proudest feats of adulthood.  I did it without the GPS!  It was also one of the moments most responsible for my survival as an introvert in 2015: I needed those eight hours of silence and solitude!

I went on my first mission trip this year!  My campus ministry took a group of us to Seattle, WA over Spring Break to work with the homeless community.  I've never been able to afford the time or money to go on a mission trip before, but someone anonymously came forward and offered to pay for me to go, and my daycare (because they are awesome) came together to make it happen so I could leave for another week (this was RIGHT after ReWrite), and so I got to experience Seattle, see homelessness, love on people as best I knew how in a week, and be a part of an awesome team helping out in whatever way we could.

I moved again in 2015.  My roommate graduated with her PhD in Organic Chemistry and moved to Texas to pursue the next step in her career, so it was time for my bi-annual shift into a new apartment with a new roommate.  I hate moving.

But it's okay, because also this year, I renewed the current lease with my new roommate, which means (so long as all goes according to plan), the next time I move will be back to NEBRASKA!!!!!  WOOHOO!!!!!

Ahem.  Sorry, got super excited there.

I survived one more Semester from the Underworld this year.  I took Parent Teacher Communications, Reading and Writing Gothic Fiction, and a Thesis Workshop simultaneously while working full time.  I survived (mostly) and got straight A's.  I plan to never do this to myself ever again.  But the Hawkeyes were 12-0 for their main season, beat the Huskers, and are playing in the Rose Bowl today, so the semester wasn't complete misery!

Go Hawkeyes!

We said goodbye to a very dear friend in 2015.  Tony Pifer and his family have been very close to my family since before I was born, and his impact on my parents' life is a huge reason that I am who I am today.  He was one of the kindest, most gentle men I have ever known.  Thank you for your life and your service to Abba Daddy, Tony, and I can't wait to see you again someday!

Then after one more round with anorexia (it was a quick one, and God and I won, so in your face, ED!), I made it through the semester and crash-landed into Christmas Break!  I had all kinds of fun at Christmas this year: I drove through rain all day long until it snowed for ten minutes, at which point I put my car in the ditch, and then I got the stomach flu Christmas morning!  But I was with family, and the stories will live on in Pancake Infamy.

So now here's to 2016: more schooling, more writing, building an author website, snuggling nephews, and watching for what God has in store for the year, one day at a time.