Nervous, scared, excited and joyous all wrapped into one.

Well today I finally realized that I have less than three days until I leave the country for a year, the longest I've not been in the US.  I've always wanted to travel and see the world outside of my protected, southern home.  And now that I finally have that opportunity just days away, it's finally hitting me.  It's time to say goodbye to the comforting touch of my mom I have always been able to count on when I feel like crap, a short drive to Chick Fil A to get a chicken cool wrap with ranch, and people that I can go talk to whenever I need to.  But the good thing is that I'll be living with Talya, my oldest sibling who has been more like a mother to me ever since I can remember.  Without her I don't think my family would've gotten through my mom's cancer.  I've always been able to talk to her about anything and she is always up for making a chocolate cake at the most random time of the day.  I'm also very excited to spend more time with her three children, Reagan, Gideon, and Jesse.  When they moved to Germany I was devastated because my family had always been just minutes away from their house and so we could see them pretty much whenever.  But since they made Europe their home, that all changed.  So now that I'm taking the not-so-common road out of high school, I'll be able to spend more time with my niece and nephews and that makes me very happy.

Going to Germany doesn't mean just packing up and doing something to occupy my time for the first year out of school.  It means so much more to me.  It means spending time with these gorgeous kids and making up for lost time in watching them grow into strong, people that take joy in the simple things.  I can't wait to see them for the first time in over a year.  I also can't wait to see their mommy who has done an incredible job of raising them...well, at least so far ;)  The dynamic duo of Shoup child #1 and #8 is BACK, people! :)