Installment One of Ohio Trip: Musings in General

We made it back from Ohio in one piece. Our plans of hanging out with the Labiszak family, golfing, swimming, shopping, sorting through old memorabilia, watching fireworks, and other family activities were successfully accomplished.

I think it may take more than one post to document the trip, mainly because I don't want to do it all at once. Also, we leave on Wednesday night for another family reunion up in the mountains. I probably won't be done posting about Ohio before we leave to hang out with the Callister side of the family.

That being said, there are many things I've been thinking about posting. Our trip to Ohio was not only to visit with family, but my mom wanted me to sort through several boxes containing the memories of my youth. Sorting through the all-but-forgotten boxes, and reading my old scrapbooks (from 5th to 12th grade), finding notes from friends, favorite toys, books I loved, looking at faded photographs, reading a note I wrote a crush but never got up enough courage to give him, examining old school assignments, and reading all the poems and stories I scribbled across lined paper 10+ years ago really opened a Pandora's box for me. I was able to see the girl I once was from a woman's point of view. In some ways I wish I could go back and tell her the things I've learned over the years, to save her from future heart ache and embarrassment (Oh, the embarrassment!!). In other ways I know I wouldn't have learned all of these things had I not experienced the unpleasantness of puberty. I also realized how much I have yet to learn.

While rummaging through my memories I realized how embarrassing the teenage years really are. Despite the feedback I received growing up, I always felt very awkward. Instead of being myself, I often played the part of who I thought people wanted me to be. I was so fearful of rejection that I tucked Real Leslie away and only let her come out for my closest friends and relatives. I hope I can instill in Tralee a strong sense of self. I want her to know that life is so much simpler and happier when you're true to who you are and what you represent. I think I would have been a lot happier in my teenage years had I done this. Not to say that I was unhappy. I had moments of pure youthful glee saturated in silliness. In fact, I caught myself laughing quite a few times while rummaging through my memory boxes. I'll have to post some of the ridiculous things my friends and I came up with to do for fun. . . but later. I'm getting tired, and I have many other things to post about first.

I'll end this post with a video from the trip. Tralee, my mom, and myself were on the 16th green playing one night in Ohio. This green is pretty much my parent's backyard. It's fun to play on it at dusk when there aren't any golfers coming through. Tralee had a blast. She's such a funny little girl!