home SWEEEEEEET home

Well, I'm finally getting around to writing my final word on London and my summer. I've been home for almost two weeks now, and I'm loving it. I probably should have written this sooner, but I needed some time to be removed from my experience before writing about it. I've been trying to think of a way to sum it all up...not an easy task. I've spent the last two weeks hiking, watching the olympics, indulging in afternoon naps, and eating an incredible amount of otter pops. I've caught up with a few friends and spent lots of time with my family. I start school on Monday, and I'm starting back up at the children's museum next week. Normal life...ahhhhhh. I'm sure I'll be sick of it in no time, but for now I am very content to be here. People say happiness comes from within, and I really understood that when I was finished with this job. I've known that forever; I've heard it forever. But it wasn't until I lived in a situation that could have been perfectly happy and wonderful, but wasn't, that I realized just how much a choice happiness is. I think its possible to be the richest person alive and be the most miserable person alive at the same time. Anyway, this summer gave me a lot to work on, and being back in my familiar environment, I think it will be more of a challenge. Being in my comfort zone, it will be easy to slip back into routine, back into life as it was before London. I've already caught myself failing to incorporate the lessons I learned in my life. I am trying, though, because I'm pretty certain I went there to learn those lessons, not just to stand on the top of St. Paul's Cathedral or walk through the Tower of London. Going out into the world on my own for so long made me feel a bit vulnerable, insignificant, and overwhelmed. It's a big place with a lot of problems and a lot of opportunity. After spending time in the fast paced, high stress world of the big people, I'm pretty content to be a little person. I don't need all that. I do want to make a difference, and I do want to live an active, purposeful life. I just don't need to live an elaborate life. Simplicity is grand. This was an amazing summer, and I am so lucky. Or rather, blessed. I prefer to say blessed. I'm really glad to be home, and I'm really glad that I went. It'll be something that I keep looking back on and keep learning from. And there you have it! Not as in depth or insightful as a conclusion to such a summer should probably be, but there you have it. I'll divulge more to anyone who asks, especially if you want to see my pictures.... :D I'm not entirely done blogging, I don't think. I won't have quite as interesting things to post about, but you never know! So, keep checking if you are interested in the goings on of the life of Hannah. Thanks everyone for all your support and love in everything I do. I love you all!

Counting Down

Once again, I am sort of at a loss for words. Time is winding down here; in five days I'll finally be back in Utah, and a week from right now, I'll be finished with this job. The last couple of weeks I've spent time in some incredible places, such as New York City, upstate New York, and Nantucket. My time in New York City has mostly been limited to toy stores and candy shops, since my shopping/exploring buddies are all eight and under. Those stores have been loads of fun, though! My favorite is F.A.O Shwartz, which features the giant piano from the movie "Big". There's a guy dressed up like a toy soldier at the door, and there are all sorts of demonstrations and goings-on there. The candy shop we went to, Dylans, reminded me of Willy Wonka's shop in that movie, where kids are running around laughing, there's music and more candy than you could ever imagine. Once again, lots of fun. We wandered through a bit of Central Park the other day and had a picnic on a hill overlooking a carnival. On our way to the airport in London, the taxi driver said he'd recently been to New York, and it felt familiar because you see it so much in the news and in movies and shows. It's true, New York does have a familiar feel to it. We spent a week in Nantucket, staying with Farran's friend, Allison. Allison has two positively lovely children. Her 5-year-old boy can be a little rowdy, but these kids listen to their mother, respect her and each other, and play nice...I almost wept with joy. The girls I watch were particularly difficult, unfortunately. Except Little Farran. On our second day there, she fell and cut her leg just below her knee and had to get six stitches. She was sweet all week! Well, her knee is better now, and so she's back to her old self....sigh. The twins were absolute misery because they decided that staying at a friend's house meant they should scream particularly loud, be particularly disrespectful, be particularly picky, and say a particularly large amount of swear words. By the end of the week I was entirely ready to be done with the job and gave Farran my last day--August 8th. Besides the difficult children, though, Nantucket was lovely. It's a beautiful little island, quaint and charming. The beaches were nice, the temperature livable, and the town enjoyable. I had a precious five or six hours to myself the whole week, and I didn't really know what to do with myself during them! Three were on Friday, when FINALLY all of the kids went to camp. Usually at least one found an excuse to stay home. The moms went out to run some errands and I was alone. Then, on Sunday, they went to the beach for a few hours and I stayed home. My days off lately haven't been much of days off, which has made the weeks feel a bit longer, but I only have six days left so I can handle it. We came back to New York on Monday, after having to drive through a couple states to get there since our flight straight to New York was cancelled. We spent three days there. Farran was really busy, so the girls and I spent a lot of time watching cartoons and going to their favorite stores...over and over and over again. I never EVER want to see another lame cartoon. Whatever happened to Pinky and the Brain and Ninja Turtles? Seriously. Anyway, that was rather mind numbing, but the shopping was fun. Until we went clothes shopping...at the same store...for three hours. I've had a headache ever since. Anyway, yesterday we finally headed out for the country. The ride up here was a little rough with rowdy, tired, irritated children, but once we got here, things settled down. Meaning, tempers settled down. The kids have been non-stop playing, which has been great. I don't really have free time, but my time is spent less trying to get them to stop beating each other up and screaming at each other and more making sure they aren't breaking anything. I much prefer the later. We'll be here in Millbrook until either Sunday evening or Monday morning. I'm crossing my fingers for Monday morning since everyone gets along better here. Little Farran gets her stitches taken out Monday afternoon, and Tuesday evening we fly for Utah! I've been trying really hard to not have a negative attitude, but I would be lying (which I try even harder not to do) if I said I wasn't positively ecstatic to be finished with this. Like I said before, I don't regret doing it. It's been good, and I've learned a lot, and I do love these kids. I just need a break from them. A long break. A really long break. Anyway, I'm surviving, and things are much better here at their country house, so I think I'll make it home alive. I've been more focused on hanging onto my sanity than taking pictures, so I have a very pitiful amount of them, especially for New York. Hopefully I'll get another chance to walk around, and I'll be certain to get my camera out.