Winter Vacation

So although I am not in London yet, I have had plenty of traveling that has taken place over the past couple of weeks. My original travel plans included traveling to Saudi Arabia for a week, heading to Atlanta for a day, New York for 5 days, Washington State for 4 days for a family reunion, a day in Minneapolis and then heading to London on the 5th to arrive on the 6th. On the 17th I traveled home to Saudi Arabia to spend a week. On the 22 we got a phone call that my grandfather had been admitted to the hospital and that he had taken a turn to the worse (he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in October). My dad left our home in Saudi on the 23, making it the first Christmas we spent without him.

At about 5:20am on Christmas morning we got a phone call saying my grandfather had passed away. It was the 24th, Christmas Eve in the US. My mom, sister and I left Saudi on the night of the 25th and arrived in the States on the 26th. My sister and I were in Atlanta and my mom was in Detroit. We were meant to go to New York but unfortunately the big blizzard had hit and our flights were cancelled. We decided to change our plans and go to Minnesota for two days and visit some family before heading to Seattle early for the funeral. We got to Seattle on the 30th in time for the funeral on the 31st. New Years Eve was spent in Seattle at the base of the Space Needle.

Today, January 2nd, was originally meant to be a family reunion in Washington. It was a day that was meant to celebrate my grandfathers retirement from the Church. He had been a Pastor his entire life. Instead, the day changed to be his memorial. It was a celebration of his life, and the number of people that showed up, demonstrated how much he was loved and the impact he made in so many lives. He truly was a remarkable and incredible man.

It has been a different winter break. When I left LMU on the 17th I was not expecting that I would be attending a funeral. I was not expecting that I would have been saying goodbye to my grandfather over thanksgiving and my final goodbye on the 31st. It has been a vacation of the unexpected, from a death to changing trips. It has taught me to cherish the moments I have with family and with friends because they are so valuable and important.

I am looking forward to going to London. I cannot say that I am very excited yet, but I am looking forward to being in one place for just a little bit and being settled. With that said, Happy New Year and I go to London in three days!!!!