Hey y’all… My sincerest apologies for waiting so long to update you all on my homecoming. It just felt so good to spend all of my time with family and friends.
Arriving home on Christmas Eve was a great treat! We had some GOOD food. It was great to eat gumbo that I didn’t have to cook!! Haha I got to see my dad’s side of the family later that night.. My Maw-Maw Terry and Paw-Paw Gene, Nanny Kim and Uncle Dale, Aunt Ada and Uncle Lonnie, and all the cousins, too: Elliot, Ethan, Tyler and Hunter. And of course, Mom and Dad. It was a very nice, CALM Christmas Eve…for a change. You never know what’s gonna happen with the Legendres. It was probably more calm than usual because I was passed out on the sofa, mainly due to jet lag, which, by the way, plagued me for about a week! We were supposed to go to midnight mass, but I was EXHAUSTED!
We went to Christmas mass the next morning on Christmas day, the day we spend with my Mom’s side of the family. Maw-Maw Rita, Nanny Mary and Uncle Charles, Nanny Pam and her cute little puppy, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Vivian, and the many, many, MANY cousins: Levi, Joe (we always call him Jo-Jo, haha) and Jennifer, Valerie and Dave, and Brad (Meah couldn’t make it because she was working at the hospital, which sucked, because we have a BLAST together!) Then MORE cousins: Dylan, Hope, Jacob, Brandon, and Alaina. We had a full house of family and a full house of FOOD!
After a fun-filled day, we decided to head home. Of course, when my Dad and I are together, things can get crazy… We had a little situation on the ride home, so I went to my best friend, Sunnie’s house to hang out for the rest of the night. By the end of the night, Daddy and I had both calmed down and made up. Which is how it usually goes.
The thing about my Dad and I is that I am EXACTLY like him. I’m stubborn, I talk too much, and I am ALWAYS right about EVERYTHING. So, now you see how this can cause some problems! The good thing about being away is that it taught me to just let things go, for the sake of ending the argument. It’s going to be rough living at home again, especially since I haven’t lived with my parents since I was 18. But with a little effort, it’ll work. And it’s really nice being home. Comforting.
So after everyone settled down from Christmas, it was time for some catching up!!
My first go-round was meeting the girls at Chili’s. Victoria, Stacie, Kacey, Kalli, Michelle, and I spent 2 or 3 hours catching up with some MUCH-NEEDED girltalk...
Once again, I ended my night early because I was still jet-lagged. But we had a blast, and I’m so glad I got to see them!
Then there was DOWNTOWN THIBODAUX, which I have truly missed SO MUCH. Especially Rene’s.
My first night downtown was A BLAST!!
All of my nights downtown so far have been a blast…
New Year’s was also one for the books! I got ready with Marnie, then headed to a get together at Holly’s and then after I went downtown… Legendary…enough said.
The days following New Year’s were pretty great too..
And then I left for the Rockies for a winter vacation.
Unfortunately, it was cut short. It’s a day I will remember for the REST of my life.
I got a phone call from my best friend, Sunnie. I missed the call and also received a voice mail and text. I knew something bad had happened. When I called her back, she gave me news I thought I would NEVER have to hear: our dearest friend Dylan passed away in his sleep in his apartment. At that moment, I changed my flight to come home as soon as possible.
A million thoughts were going through my head; questions, concerns, memories… It still doesn’t seem true to me.
The next few days away from home were quite hard, but I made it and got home safely.
It was so hard seeing Mrs. Mona, Mr. Red, Cody, and Miles. There weren’t words to describe how ANY of us felt during that week.
Our group of friends got together to make photo collages, tee shirts, scrapbooks, message boards, and many other numerous things. As Sunnie was Dylan’s very best friend, she was commissioned to read a eulogy. She and I worked on it together for a few days until we had it just right. What sucked was that there was so much more to say about Dylan than those words on that paper.
Dylan was an AMAZING individual. He was loving, kind, compassionate, funny, driven, humble, smart, and most importantly, he was an amazing son, brother, cousin, nephew, grandson, and best friend to so many people.
The memories are countless.
Dylan used to wear these fake hillbilly teeth and call himself “Prudence”. He would make random, funny videos, talking in a British accent; Thank God we have those videos. We are truly blessed for the chance to get to hear his voice and see him in action in those videos, whenever we feel like watching.
He was SO involved: student council, national honor society, BESE board, student of the year, prom committee, and the list goes on and on and on….
The hardest part about the whole thing for me was knowing that he tried visiting me for the Christmas holidays, but we kept missing each other. I wish I could have seen him just one more time to tell him how much I loved him and how proud he made me.
Even in this time of sorrow, there was light. Dylan got to visit all of his family members when he came down for Christmas. They got to see him, talk to him, and realize how good he was doing. One of the MOST important things that come of this, is that Dylan brought all of our friends together again. From that point on, we all made a promise to each other than no matter what happened, we would make time to hang out as a group, just like we all used to do in high school. And we are sticking to it.
Dylan touched so many lives and made such a difference in this world, and he hasn’t stopped. His memory will live on FOREVER, because in our eyes, HE IS A LEGEND. And just like in his words, he will “keep on keepin’ on.”
Rest in peace, my dear prudence. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. I truly love you with all of my heart, and I will never stop loving you.
After it seemed like everything settled down a little, the normal routines kicked back in. School, work, and the rest of our everyday tasks…
But luckily, I got something a little extra!
I got to meet our exchange students from France and serve as their liason, especially the MBA students from ESCE. I must say they fit right in. I’m so happy that they will get to experience the place I call home and see exactly why I love it so much. There are SO many adventures to come in the next year. We didn’t waste any time…J
As much as I can ramble, there are plenty of things I need to get done (homework, yuck.)
So until next time,
Later gators,
Kristen
