Changes

Things are just different. I don't really know how to explain it. It's not all bad changes either. For one, I'm living with Kayla in a beautiful cozy apartment, it's probably a little too soon to tell but so far I LOVE living with her. Our apartment is cute, clean and it's nice coming back from classes and actually having someone there, unlike my dorm last year that I lived in alone. Second awesome change = work! This year I am just over all respected more because i'm returning. It's so nice. I have all the younger or new employees that come and ask me questions. I just love that I'm appreciated there this year. Change number 3: This is so not a good change. I am sooooo far away from Barnes and Noble... Granted Christopher gets me there as much as he can, I know he wants me to be as happy here as I was at home. Its just a big adjustment after going there everyday, sometimes multiple different Barnes and Nobles in 1 day. This also means that not only do I not get to see Courtney but we keep playing phone tag which results in me barely getting to talk to her at all. That's lame! I'm really excited to go to Ren Fest this year. I'll get to see my momma and sister! Well now I'm talking on the phone so if i keep writing it won't make any sense. :)

Rambles

It's nice to be back. It's really strange though. It's unforunate that when I have my frequent starbucks/caribou/or Barnes and Noble urges it is a lot harder to get there. At home I can easily hop in my car pick up Court and drive at most 15 mins. Here its at least 30, and Chris's car. It's nice having my own apartment though. I'm excited for kayla to move in, and I'm also excited for classes to start.

I really hope that I'll have enough time to read this semester. There are so many books on my shelf that i haven't read yet, and so many new ones that are ceoming out soon. So far so good though, I finished that last 75 pages of my book last night. It was wonderful, i love reading.

Morgan's wedding is coming up. It's a month away now. I should probably start learning that song that I'm supposed to sing. Her wedding is going to be so beautiful. It's at a beautiful hotel on mainstreet in Sioux City and I bought a beautiful red dress from Macys on Nicolete downtown.

Unlikely Meeting at Starbucks in August the month of Transitions

So I was at the mall this afternoon with Ben looking for birthday presents and while I was in the Barnes and Noble Starbucks, I happened to run into of all people Mrs. McMillen. Now for those of you who don't know, she is Kellen McMillen/my ex-boyfriend's mother. Now Kellen and I dated for a couple years and then we had a fling off and on until about a year ago, and to put it bluntly she hated me. All she ever heard was his side, she never heard that he was clingy and hurt me too, all she heard was that I broke his heart. So...every time that I've seen her in the past 3 years... she glares at me. Like hard core. Well today in the Barnes and Noble starbucks, I was startled by a "Brie, Oh my goodness how are you?" I turned around to a smiling Mrs. McMillen, my first thought was Oh crap, please don't pour your coffee down my shirt, but she came over and we talked for about ten minutes about how I liked school, and how glad she was that I was still involved in music and still singing. We talked about Krin and Kellen and then we smiled and parted ways. After Ben and I walked out of BN I just stood there, and thought WHAT THE HELL? I was glad that she finally could say hi when she saw me, It made our frequent awkward run ins a little easier to bear but the concern about how I was and making sure I was still singing could easily have been mistaken for caring. To an outsider I'm sure we looked like she was my best friends mom from high school who I hadn't seen in a while. Not my high school sweethearts mother who had nothing but negative things to say about me, basically to the point where my actual best friends mom had to tell her to stop because the Johnson's loved me. Now this same women was starting the starbucks small talk conversation without any knowable force needed to push her, but for all she knows Kel and I were totally done 2 years ago not 1 so I'm sure she thinks it would be stupid to still hold some sort of grudge. I don't know it was just really strange running into someone that I thought hated me and then was so friendly.

Ben wants me to go to the Demo Derby with everyone tonight. I think I'm gonna pass, I feel like hanging out with my mom, and not spending money. I think that I would much rather just read a book and try to start some sort of a list for going back to school. I did see a lamp at target in the mall that would be nice for my room...maybe I'll add that to the list. Life is always confusing for me in August. I always go from carefree live in the moment Brie, to being confused and indecisive about what I want to do. I mean nothing is changing by any means, at least not things that I didn't expect to change. I still am moving back to Vermillion, leaving my family and when I say family I don't mean just my immediate family, but my brothers (Ben Scott and Noah) and my other sisters (Charisse and Courtney) they really are my family not just my friends. I am almost done with my summer job, which is scary, I wish I could work there all the time. Those things are changing that's basically all, but both of them are a HUGE part of my life. I'm excited to go back though, I feel like I'm ready. Of the 8 anniversaries that Chris and I have had we have spent a total of 3 together. Our first month was over Christmas break and our last 4 have been summer. We have spent the majority of our relationship apart and I'm ready to just spend time with him. Get back to the way things were, or at least something similar. I just hate the end of August, it's always been such a transitioning month. When we were kids it we just wanted it to go by fast so we could go to school again, and when we were out of school we just wanted our first year of college to start and now that we are in our later years of college it is all about earning those last couple hundred bucks and getting everything we need for school. I don't ever really forsee that changing for me, I will never like Augusts. When I'm out of school, August is right before when school starts and I begin teaching. When I'm a mom by kids will be off to school in August. I just hate that time in between when things change. I'm just ready for it to change all ready, not just sitting and anticipating it. Just counting the days as they go by. Oh well...what can I do but wait?

Chris

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Here's to You Ms. Courtney J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToDZ9Q2hIBk

Wordsworth's We are Seven

A simple child, dear brother Jim,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage girl,
She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl
That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad;
Her eyes were fair, and very fair,
--Her beauty made me glad.

"Sisters and brothers, little maid,
How many may you be?"
"How many? seven in all," she said,
And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they, I pray you tell?"
She answered, "Seven are we,
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea."

"Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother,
And in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet you are seven; I pray you tell
Sweet Maid, how this may be?"

Then did the little Maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."

"You run about, my little maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."

"Their graves are green, they may be seen,"
The little Maid replied,
"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door,
And they are side by side."

"My stockings there I often knit,
My 'kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit--
I sit and sing to them."

"And often after sunset, Sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there."

"The first that died was little Jane;
In bed she moaning lay,
Till God released her of her pain,
And then she went away."

"So in the church-yard she was laid,
And all the summer dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I."

"And when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,
My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side."

"How many are you then," said I,
"If they two are in Heaven?"
The little Maiden did reply,
"O Master! we are seven."

"But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!"
'Twas throwing words away; for still
The little Maid would have her will,
And said, "Nay, we are seven!"

**I recently thought of this poem. Even if a member of the family dies, they are still loved, remembered, and counted as part of that family. I believe that Tucker will always be watching and waiting from Heaven and when his family finally comes to join him he will be waiting with open arms. That little boy had all the love of a full lifetime even though his was cut short. Even when Travis and Missy are older and have more children they will always count Tucker as part of their family! I send the Johnson family my love and pray for God to give them strength on this day that could possibly be the hardest day of their lives. I wish I could be there!

Augusts= Crazy!

This past weekend was a wonderful couple of days. My mom and I road tripped down to Vermillion where we moved most of my stuff into my beautiful new dorm. (picture posted below) People are so funny in how they try to find the fault in everything, Coyote Village is beautiful and the rooms are the perfect size for a college atmosphere. It was wonderful seeing Chris, but you could so easily see how emotionally drained he is. (with great reason) He helped us set up my dorm too, which was a lot of fun. Tomorrow is Valleyfair day with my college buddies...it'll be interesting I can tell you that! I can't wait to see my roomie! I'm making her go on the skydiving thing with me! You are being warned Kayla McDaniel! I can't wait to experience it with them. It's always interesting doing something that us locals take for granted, with people who don't have the opportunity to just go there whenever they want. They do want to go to Bdubs though, I love bdubs but if you're on vacation don't you think you should go to a place that you can't go to at home. Like Bubba Gump Shrimp, or something like that, I think we should just go to Buffalo Wild Wing when everyone moves back in to Vermillion, as kind of a celebration, but hey I shouldn't be the one deciding what we do tomorrow because it is not my vacation.

It's that time of summer when everything is just strange. I'm anxious to get back to school and be with Chris and start classes, but at the same time I don't want to leave my job, friends, and family. I LOVE Minneapolis, I LOVE the western suburbs. It has everything that I need and it has an endless supply of Barnes and Noble, Caribous, Starbucks, Applebees, Malls (Good malls), and Qdobas. August is always a time of me prepping to go off to school, but trying to enjoy the time that I have left with my friends and family, It's when I don't want to work much because I have so much to do, but it's also when I have to work because I'm trying to get as much cash as I can before I run off to my low paying college town job...lame. 

It's one of those crazy days today. I work til 3:30, then I have to run to the bank, target, the gym, and office max. It would be nice to see Court too considering I haven't seen her in like a week, and that's pretty unheard of for the two of us. Well, I should get back to work...but it's boring and I'm trying to waste time before the UPS guy comes in with a zillion packages for me to add to inventory...fun...

Can't wait to see my buds tomorrow, it should be interesting though.

B