both abby and mom worked at the pool with me today, and it was super-fun. abby is still getting used to speaking english again, and it's quite humorous for me to hear her yoda-esque sentence structure and clumsy english translations of spanish phrases, such as, "how odd." the day did get a bit long though since mom could only work in the bath house. ab and i roasted outside for seven hours straight, and now she's a big lobster. hee. hee. red abby.

tomorrow i think i'll make a quick trip to lincoln to see chris for the last time before december. i hope this trip is more successful than the one last week. it has been hard this past week not having him around. i've forgotten a couple times and have come home calling for him. i'll search the house only to find a made bed in an empty room and remember he's left. i'm going to miss the fam so much! tonight we watched kate and jay's wedding dvd for the first time, and it made me cry. i think just the idea of all of us together makes me cry.

i leave for arizona a week from tomorrow, and i am so torn.  these past few weeks have been wonderful; and although i am excited to see some ASU people, i don't believe seeing them will make up for the sadness i will feel when i start giving good-byes to people and places i hold so dear.  

enough of that. 

 counting the days will only make them go faster.

on another note, abby's back from mexico!  she was supposed to fly in to lincoln last wednesday, and i drove from axtell to lincoln that night to surprise her.  i got to the airport, waited, waited...no abby.  i didn't know her flight number because the lincoln airport only has four gates so i was sure i couldn't miss her.  but after awhile i thought she must have slipped by and called home to get the flight number.  mom answers and tells me abby called an hour and a half ago and said that her flight'd been cancelled--that they were stuck in chicago.   anyone who disses cell phones...let me tell you, it sucks not having one.  i got back in my car and drove right back.  boo united airlines!  she made it home though, and thanks to crappy pool weather, i was able to go to lincoln and spend all weekend with her.

i gave blood this morning.  it was great to see familiar mindy faces, but the lady who took my blood kind of made me mad.  when she was prepping my arm, she gave me this big speech on sun damage and how my skin was "very tough."  bah.  people are obsessed with commenting on how dark i am.  probably every other day someone says something to the effect of, "anne, you're such a mexican."  today at the bloodmobile it was, "i saw your feet, and i thought we had a black girl here with us today."  dummys.

mom gets back from arizona tomorrow night.   yay!  time with dad's been good, but he's always so tired and busy.  think twice before loving a farmer--it quite often sucks.  so does res life.  i don't want to live in manzy.  don't ask.

today it was very obvious to me that i've changed in the past few years. 
 
kearney, nebraska is an exit many choose to take while traveling down beautiful I-80.  growing up, and especially in the summer, i would check the license plates at fast food restuarants or gas stations and note the exotic places the visitors were from--louisiana, california, alaska, etc.  i'd check and see what the final destinations of greyhound buses were and wonder about the lives of the people inside the cars and buses who only thought of kearney as a place to eat or fuel up instead of what it was to me--home.  i was jealous of those people.  i'd wish i were the one going places--if only i were on that bus that would be in los angeles tomorrow.
 
but this morning...
 
i made a quick trip to buffalo county's seat and as i passed the west/east interchange and saw the pick-up from wisconsin and the car from michigan, i thought to myself, "boy am i glad i'm not them with such a long drive ahead."  i was happy to be only fifteen minutes from axtell and familiar faces--glad to be home. 
 
 my wild spirit is currently in idle.

last night i needed some introvert time, and i thought i'd get it since i had the house to myself, but i needed my wide open spaces and headed out for a walk. as i stepped outside and felt the heavy evening air, immediately my hair began to curl and my clothes stick. the ninety degree day brought a very humid eve. maybe this night stroll wasn't the greatest idea, but i proceeded anyway.

as i walked, a familiar smell drifted my way--could it be...pollen? memories of detasseling crowded my brain, and i couldn't believe it. is it that time already? i glanced around and sure enough, the corn had grown tall without my noticing and glimpses of gold glimmered across the vast green. summer is indeed in full swing, and i think i am too. my transition period is over, and i once again feel like i'm home. although this summer hasn't turned out to be what i thought it would, i will treasure it. i love driving home with my windows down hearing the hum of the irrigation wells and waving at the farmers checking rows. last week dustin was driving me back to axtell and caught me with my arm out the window and eyes closed with a half-smile on my face just enjoying the feel of the fresh breeze on my face. he looked over at me and said, "you can take the girl out of nebraska, but you can't take the nebraska out of the girl." i scoffed at the cliche knowing that in a few weeks i'd be on the road back to arizona, but after thinking about it, he's probably right. no matter how many misquito slaps and gross feedlot or standing water stenches that come about here in this cornhusker state, it will always hold a special place in my heart. always.

enough sap. happy birthday, susan.

on july 3, 2003, i met hillary rodham clinton. on july 3, 2004, i worked all day at the axtell pool. i'm glad my life is progressing so well.

i spent a wild night with my buddy brian last night. we tried to be part of a little summer honors (geek camp) reunion, but it didn't work out the best. we left early feeling a lot older than 20.

today at the pool i felt like i was in a norman rockwell painting. the axtell fire department parked their truck on the street in front of the pool, turned on a hose, and began spraying water at all of us. the kids ran out of the bath house and jumped out of the water to dance under the steady stream of falling droplets. it was a moment i'll never forget. it will be memories like that i will take with me from this summer.

tonight chris and i went to the fairgrounds to watch the county's fireworks display. we were pleased, and judging by the amount of horn-honking, so was the rest of the town. fourth of july brings minden's one and only traffic jam and sitting in the car talking while waiting for officer wagner to wave you along, is almost as fun as ooohing and awwwing at the pyrotechnics. the car did seem eerily empty though. ab, susan, kate, we missed you.

things are better. i've had two fun nights in a row--spiderman 2 and cosmic bowling with chris, cortney, and a few others. i loved hanging out with c, but i didn't appreciate it when he told me he was leaving for school three weeks from tomorrow. way too soon.

around 1.30 this afternoon it started pouring. i don't like closing the pool and enjoy swimming in the rain myself so i kept it open as long as i could. when the kids' mothers made them get out because it was coming down too hard, eric and i set fine examples and took their places, having a fabulous time until it started thundering. blasted thunder. twas good to get home early and nap. i miss my naps.