Anniversary Weekend

So this past weekend was full of anniversaries, and not really the ones you would typically think of, like dating anniversary, or wedding anniversary (we will get to that later), but anniversaries none-the-less.

First and foremost, it was the 5th(ish) anniversary (or in this case, annual) 4th of July Family Cookout which is held at my aunt and uncle's house. The weekend before the 4th, my aunt and uncle invite the whole family over for a night of good food and fun. My aunt and uncle are excellent cooks, and well, I'm a sucker for good food, and by good food, I mean ribs, beans, slaw, and the BEST desserts ever. Then we play bingo, trivia, and word scramble for prizes. Let me add, the adults play, not the kids, and it gets competitive because the prizes are fabulous. (I won 3 gift cards this year) To top it off, being the amazing host and hostess they are, my aunt and uncle provide 4th of July themed gifts for everyone. It's like Christmas in July, really. The entire family looks forward to it every year. I was particularly looking forward to it this year because I had to miss out on this day of family fun last year, which brings me to the next anniversary. 

This past weekend was also the 1 year anniversary of my appendix surgery.  You may be thinking, why would you anniverserize that day? <-- I obviously made that word up. Well, that day, which I remember vividly, was a what I thought was the worst day ever, but it actually turned out to be (as you may know)  a day that we can arguably say saved my life.  I remember waking up that Saturday morning not feeling right. After a short trip to Acute Care, I was in the ER at HMH getting ready to have my appendix removed. At that moment, before my surgery, I was mad, real mad, and not because I was getting ready to have surgery, I mean yeah whatever, who needs their appendix anyways? Go ahead and remove any other unused organs while you're at it and go ahead and suck out some of that extra body fat too.  I was mad  because I had to miss out on the annual 4th of July Family Cookout at my aunt and uncle's house. They wanted to cancel but I convinced them that the show must go on without me, and I would be fine, laying in that hospital bed, in my hospital room, connected to all those machines, with one less organ, alllll by myself....

 So long as they brought me back some of that food, and they did. :)

  
Hours after having my appendix removed, I was eating ribs, beans, cole slaw, and loving it. Not quite the liquid diet that's called for after having your appendix removed but whatever. 

 So anyways, back to my point-- So what I thought was the worst day ever turned out to be a day that I'll always be thankful for since it was because of my appendicitis that led my doctors to realize that I did have leukemia. And it was because of my appendicitis that we caught my leukemia while it was still in the first stage. That's an anniversary worth celebrating. :)  

Now here's the last anniversary, and this is the depressing one. This weekend also marks the 1 year anniversary of the last time I went on a date. Can you believe that? It's been a year since I've been out on a date. A whole year.  That's a new record. Granted, I've been single for over 4 years now. (And if you read My Hardest Confession, you know why.) But up until this past year, I dated, consistently. Nothing serious but I always had someone to go to dinner with, go to lunch with, hang out with, and date. So why the change? Well, after I had my appendix removed, the next few months of my life were filled with tests, doctors appointments, and coping with my newly discovered diagnosis:: leukemia. Needless to say, dating has been the last thing on my mind. My life has changed so much in this past year, not dating was probably the right decision but here's the problem now:: Now that I'm ready to jump back into the dating scene, I feel like I've become even more comfortable (than I already was) being single.  Actually, maybe I've just become too comfortable in my routine. I want to get married. I want to maybe have more kids. I want someone to share mine and Talon's life with. And I want someone to snuggle on the couch with. BUT, I've become so used to not having that. Too used to it. Wow, I feel like I'm having deja vu here! When I should be out meeting new people and going on dates, I'm at home, by myself, reading, catching up on my favorite TV shows, and just enjoying the downtime, alone. A big part of that is because I keep so busy, I'm usually too tired to think about dating. But another part of that is because It's comfortable, and easy. My family has told me time after time that I'm too picky, and that's not the case. I think what it is, even though I do want to be with someone, I have very little desire to put forth a lot of effort to meet someone. I'm kinda still hoping he will just fall from the sky and magically appear. That is possible, right?  I truly feel God will put that right person in my life when the time is right (even though I hope it's sooner rather than later) BUT I also know that I can't meet that person until I put forth SOME effort. It's something that I'm trying to work on because this time next year, I def. don't want to be writing about another non-dating anniversary. 

So here's to jumping back into the dating scene.....

Aaaaand this is what my sister sent me this morning......