Well, I have officially been in Oregon for four days. I am sitting in the living room having my morning cup of coffee and just staring at the light drizzle coming down outside the window. I have said it before and I will say it again.... ahhhhh the Northwest! I am in love. I am struggling, because being here reminds me of how much I love this place. Not Gresham necessarily, but Oregon and what is here. My parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. It is hard to not want to just stay here. It did make me realize, however, that I do want to be close to my parents when I decide to settle down, get married and have children. With that said, I think my Montana days are numbered. I am not planning on getting married tomorrow, heck, I can't even think of a guy I would want to be with forever as of right now. But I do want to establish myself again. Find an apartment. Transfer to another Starbucks and hopefully get promoted sooner. The thing about living where there are more than one Starbucks, is that the possibilities of getting promoted are much greater.
It has been so nice to get to spend time with family. It really makes me appreciate them so much. I am one lucky girl to be surrounded by so many people that I love. I could not be happier. Or so I thought.
I got the best news yesterday! Laura and Bre will both be here next week! I get to see two of my best friends while I am here!! I am overjoyed! I have not seen either of them in so long. It was Christmas the last time I saw Laura and June when I saw Bre. Another plus to moving back home, I will get to see them whenever they come back home. Which would be so nice to not be in Montana missing the time when everyone has come home and I am still there.
Now don't get me wrong. I love Montana. I love my family and that I get to see them every day. I love the church I am involved in. Sometimes I am scared that if I move back, I will not be involved or I will not go to church as often as I do. I know that I will have to push myself. I know that I will miss a lot of people and things about Montana. Mostly, my aunt, uncle and cousins. But I have just really realized how important it is to be close to family.
Enough about that. I just had to get my thoughts out I think. Time to get moving and get ready. On the agenda for today, shopping and pedicures with my mom! Its going to be great! That is all for now!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Nothin' beats Oregon in the fall
Yup, I said it! Which means of course, that I am in Oregon! After a looooong and uncomfortable train ride, I arrived at Portland Union Station this morning at 10:25. I slept on and off through most of the ride until around 8:30. I finally decided to look out the window and take in the Northwest. I was taken back by the beauty! There were so many amazing colors. Green and yellow and orange and red! AH! It was amazing! I found myself totally lost and just staring out the window. I really didnt notice anything going on around me. As I looked up onto the hills, the tops of the trees were covered in fog. It looked almost...dare I say... Twilighty. Another thing to love about the Northwest.
As I stepped off the train, I was instantly hit by the smell... if you are from here, then you know what I am talking about. That smell that comes right before the rain hits the ground. I just stood there and took in a huge sniff! I didnt care who was looking. Nobody could take that moment from me. The air was crisp and cool and evertyhing was perfect.
I called my mom to let her know I had made it and she was running a little behind, so I decided to head into the staiton and look around. There is not much to it, but Union Station is pretty cool. Kind of historical. I sat on a bench and watched people for a while before I decided that I was in desperate need for a caffiene fix. I grabbed a double tall white mocha and went out front. You know your in Portland when the first thing you hear outside is a symphony of car horns, street sweepers and sirens. For some reason, it made me feel right at home. I was pretty much in heaven.
The first person to come up to me outside was an older gentleman. Probably late 40's I'd say. He was selling news papers for the homeless. I opted out on buying one and went back to reading my book. About twenty minutes later he sat on a bench next to the one I was sitting on. He pulled out a baggie with a sandwhich in it and a bottle of some Dr. Pepper knock off. As he helped himself to his lunch, I could not help but feel a tug at my heartstrings. My mom always tells me I am too compasionate, and it is times like these that make me think she is right. I have a hard time watching people eat alone. It makes me wonder what their story is. Why they are alone. Have they lost a loved one? Have they ever had a loved one to eat with? So many things run through my head, but today all that ran through my head was to pray for him. So I did. I prayed that God would bless this man that I didnt know. I asked God that if he was homeless as well, that he would find a place to live. I just prayed for a while until the tears dried up. Then I looked up and my mom was there. We loaded the car with my bags and as I was getting in, I looked over and the man smiled at me. I said to him "have a really great day" and he said "well thank you, you have a good day as well." I hopped in the car and he was standing right in my view and nodded at me. I feel like this was God saying "Hey Erin, he is surely going to be blessed today". It just gave me an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay.
So, that is my first hour in Oregon. I hope that man is blessed today. I hope everyone is blessed today. I know I am and I cannot wait to see what other awesome things happen on this trip!
As I stepped off the train, I was instantly hit by the smell... if you are from here, then you know what I am talking about. That smell that comes right before the rain hits the ground. I just stood there and took in a huge sniff! I didnt care who was looking. Nobody could take that moment from me. The air was crisp and cool and evertyhing was perfect.
I called my mom to let her know I had made it and she was running a little behind, so I decided to head into the staiton and look around. There is not much to it, but Union Station is pretty cool. Kind of historical. I sat on a bench and watched people for a while before I decided that I was in desperate need for a caffiene fix. I grabbed a double tall white mocha and went out front. You know your in Portland when the first thing you hear outside is a symphony of car horns, street sweepers and sirens. For some reason, it made me feel right at home. I was pretty much in heaven.
The first person to come up to me outside was an older gentleman. Probably late 40's I'd say. He was selling news papers for the homeless. I opted out on buying one and went back to reading my book. About twenty minutes later he sat on a bench next to the one I was sitting on. He pulled out a baggie with a sandwhich in it and a bottle of some Dr. Pepper knock off. As he helped himself to his lunch, I could not help but feel a tug at my heartstrings. My mom always tells me I am too compasionate, and it is times like these that make me think she is right. I have a hard time watching people eat alone. It makes me wonder what their story is. Why they are alone. Have they lost a loved one? Have they ever had a loved one to eat with? So many things run through my head, but today all that ran through my head was to pray for him. So I did. I prayed that God would bless this man that I didnt know. I asked God that if he was homeless as well, that he would find a place to live. I just prayed for a while until the tears dried up. Then I looked up and my mom was there. We loaded the car with my bags and as I was getting in, I looked over and the man smiled at me. I said to him "have a really great day" and he said "well thank you, you have a good day as well." I hopped in the car and he was standing right in my view and nodded at me. I feel like this was God saying "Hey Erin, he is surely going to be blessed today". It just gave me an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay.
So, that is my first hour in Oregon. I hope that man is blessed today. I hope everyone is blessed today. I know I am and I cannot wait to see what other awesome things happen on this trip!
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