Goodbye

8:47 Wednesday August 19th, 2009 (Time of Writing, you had to pay for airport internet so I just wrote to be posted later)

This morning was surprisingly easier than I thought it was going to be. Mostly because I think that I had adequate time to prepare myself mentally that I was leaving. I wasn’t prepared the other night when Kelly started crying at my house and therefore I thought that last night was going to be really hard for me to try to leave but…it wasn’t. So…here is the thing: I am ready to leave my house, I am ready to start my life, and I am ready to start making my own decisions. Even though saying goodbye to my sisters (Johna and Annie) and My Aunt Tracy was hard last night, it was necessary. For my sisters it was important that I can set an example for them and let them know that there is a world that exists outside of Butte, Montana and if this whole experience helps them understand that, then it was well worth the initiative. If you two little girls are reading this I want you to know that I love you and miss you already! Many people tend to say that my Aunt Tracy and I share many similar qualities, and guess what? I LOOOOOOVE that! My Aunt Tracy is one of the strongest women that I know in my life J and when people tell me that I am just like her I smile because I am glad that I could be compared to someone like her!
After the party was over last night, I was happy that Kelly, Kaitlyn and Riann had the opportunity to stay later and take time to spend time with me before I left. Kelly has been one of the reasons that I was actually considering possibly going to U of M before I realized that the title of “Paul Babb’s Daughter” would follow me there. I absolutely LOVE this girl. She is one of the funnies people that I have ever met in my life, and she even laughs at my jokes. I will never forget the times that we have spent in the past two years. Watching Parental Control, while scripted still is the best when I can watch it will you and make fun of the people on it. Who would go on that show anyway? Kaitlyn, just like her mom, is a VERY important person to me. She is the nicest and most caring person that I have ever met in my life. Even though I will miss so many people while embark on this journey to college, I know that hands down that she will be one of the people that I miss the most. The thing is that every time that Riann comes over to my house she seems to convince me that she just wants those one pair of shoes because they are really cute and she would really like them. As Kelly knows, I melt when anyone tries on something of mine and I think they look good or better than me in it, then I usually break and say just take it. Well, last night Riann took in the gold mine of shoes, movies and books (the last two which she promised me that she would return). She was able to take things that Mederios was probably going to just throw in a box somewhere and maybe just maybe I would find when I come back for Christmas. Saying goodbye to Riann was quite a bit easier than I thought and maybe it was because I still felt as if going to college was still surreal and she gave me her favorite sunglasses which definitely made it easier. In fact, the fact that she stayed at my house until one thirty really was a fun was too spend my last night in Butte.
This morning still didn’t seem as real as I thought it would. I just feel like I am going on extended vacation, which kind of is what I am expecting my journey for the first semester to be. Maybe I am wrong but I feel as though I will be coming home before anyone has even forgot what it is like to have me home, which at times I believe too hard for some people in my life, but that’s me, hard to deal with at times. I think the hardest part of this morning happened in two different parts. First, seeing my sister, Mederios cry a lot which was really hard for me to try to process because I didn’t want to leave her or see her in pain because of me. Here is thing…even though Mederios and I seem to nitpick at each other every other minute she is a sweetie and I don’t believe I would have changed anything about our relationship. I love her and hope to see her soon. My Grandma was also someone that was very hard to leave because she is the person that I go to when the rest of my family pisses me off, which is often. She has been there for me for the past 17 (almost 18) years of my life. I love her dearly, and can’t wait to come home for some good cookin’ for Christmas. That is another thing that is going to kill me. Not having my Gram’s treats that she randomly brings over. Going over to house if like going to a bakery, what did she make today, but Gram if you are reading this some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies sound amazing! The last and final person that I had to say goodbye to this morning was Dad, Pbabbs. I had the opportunity of coming out to Allegheny for the first time with him and deciding if this was really the place that I wanted to spend my next four years. The thing is…we really did. Saying goodbye to him wasn’t hard because I know that he knows that I am going somewhere that he believes to be a place to foster my dreams and maybe be able to escape from this façade that was created being his daughter. I love him and hopefully and can meet him in D.C. one of the times that he is there during this upcoming year.
I would like to thank everyone that came to my party last night, it really meant a lot to me and provided some closure for me. Tie-dyeing is one of my favorite things to do. So I was happy that I had the opportunity to do it with you and you and you. Hope that they turned out and that you will remember me every time that you wear them.

Furthermore…the top ten things that I will miss most about Butte

1. Good ole’ Butte food. Even though it could give you a stomach ache (and trust me it does) for a week it tastes so good and is worth every bite. Nancy’s Pasties, Pork Chop John’s, The Uptown, Christina’s Cocina, Asia Gardens, Truzzalino’s Tamale’s (sp?), Lydia’s, The Derby, Arctic Circle (renamed Royce’s but everyone still refers to it as Arctic Circle), Matt’s, Four Seasons, Pekin, El Taco, Metals, and Vu Pizza (I don’t think I missed any).
2. Having the outdoors at my fingertips. In the past year, I have really been getting into hiking, especially the Maude S Trailhead. Being that the East Ridge is about two seconds driving distance from my dad’s house, makes it easy access. I will also miss the Lake, Skiing and whatever I decide to do on whim.
3. The dry, dry, dry, air. Even though I don’t mind humidity, it kind of makes my hair go crazy. It will be interesting to see how I acclimate to the humidity. It makes summer hotter and winter colder, so I am interested to see how that works out. I will keep you posted, maybe even pictures.
4. The Drive In. I love going to the Drive in and this summer I had the opportunity of going to see movies out there almost weekly. I love how cheap it is and the fact that we have access to it all summer long. I saw quite a few movies there this summer and even though it will be closing soon I know that I will miss it.
5. Sophie. I absolutely love my car that I got two years ago, and I think it may because I paid for the majority of it and therefore feel as if it was one of major purchases that I made before I hit 18. Sophie was and is most well known as the “Obama-mobile” because I covered her in Obama pins, bumper stickers, an air freshener, a plush doll replica and even a bobble head (Thanks Karson). Who knew that a Sante Fe could house so much Obama lovin’? I will miss my car quite a bit because no matter what the situation (even though I ran out of gas twice, my fault not Sophie’s) she always made it through, and was all-wheel drive which made driving through Butte really easy even when there was freshly fallen snow. I will miss you Sophie, see you in December!
6. The Accent. Even though many natives would be the first to tell you that we do not have an accent, we do! I find it quite hilarious! Even though you might not call it an accent most of my friends and family will refer to Con-tin-nen-tal Drive as something like this Connntannenntal Drive. It is phrases and interpretations of language like this that I will miss making fun of.
7. My bed/s. Even though I have two different bedrooms at two different houses. I can say hands down that one of the things that I will miss the most will be my bed/s. I love my bed at my dad’s house because it is located in the basement which just makes everything darker and better for sleeping long hours into the day and the down feather bed and comforter doesn’t hurt either. At my mom’s house it is a different story, literally, mostly because my room is on the second floor. That bed is also one that I could just relax and sleep in for hours. What can I say I love my beds?
8. The Blue Luna. This has become one of my greatest obsessions in Butte mostly because they cater to my every need. If I can’t have milk then they have rice milk (a great alternative by the way). They always have new things to try and the coffee and drinks really do make my day. I love the fresh squeezed lemonade, rice chai and/or life juice (non-coffee drinks obsession). There coffee is also reallllly good but I haven’t it in quite a while.
9. HT Confessions. Whenever the treo has time to get together and spill about what has been partaken in each one of our lives, we do. Both Kelly and I have hot tubs and therefore during both the winter (really cold) and summer (still pretty cold) we get together and spill about everything. I will miss these talks mostly because they require Kelly telling us to be quite because her Mom is listening in or Amber going into the fetal position because she is scared someone is hiding in the bushes. I love the laughter, the tears and most of all the juice that all of us have shared in HT Confessions.
10. Friends and Family. It is going to be a huge transition for me to move on and go to college mostly because I have lived in the same town for 17 (almost 18) years. I also have five siblings which are all younger than me and look up to me for money, tropical sno and some good advice. My mom, dad, aunts, cousins, etc. will be something that I think about on a daily basis. I love you all.

SHOUT-OUTS
*I also will miss Tropical Sno (fuzzy navel and vanilla with cream! YUM)
*My Nurses at Pediatric hold a special place in my heart and I will never forget there compassion for me throughout the past few months. I can honestly say that they will be some of the people that I miss the most. Love you Angie and Shawna.