Oklahoma.

I got to go back to Oklahoma this past weekend for a great friend's wedding. First, my Pawpaw picked me up at the airport and I got to catch up with him and his life after the furniture business. He just sold his land to the highway department and has already sold everything in his store. It'll be sad to see Beeline go - Kelly and I spent many days there jumping from mattress to mattress while mom and dad shopped for furniture. Then, Kelly and I had lunch at Utica Square, my favorite part in Tulsa, and we got to catch each other up on what's new. It's so much better to have face-to-face conversations with people...it's just more personal! And I certainly miss my sister. She's my favorite person I know. And the coolest. Always. Later on, Mom, Dad, Kelly, Mamaw, Pawpaw, Jeff and I had a very lovely dinner at a sweet little Italian restaurant. It's always fun being with the family...I sure do miss it often. Mom and Dad are busy building their new home, which I'm thrilled to see the finished product! They've worked hard for 30ish years to finally build their dream home and I couldn't be happier. It'll be a great nest to come back to.

After dinner Jeff took me back to his house in Oklahoma City (so cute!) and I got to see his family, and especially his dad's new Porsche. Yeow! The next day we left for my friend, Megan's, wedding. It was most excellent catching up with all my beautiful pledge sisters...and we can just say that I got pretty nostalgic with all my buddies, learning about their lives post-college and getting to share my life with them. It was me, Jeff, Jaryn (one of my best gals) and Grady (one of my best guys.) The four of us drove from Oklahoma City to Mangum, a little town where there are rattlesnake rodeos. No kidding!
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After the beautiful wedding, we invited all our friends to our hotel room for more beer and chatting. I think we finally hit the hay around 4 a.m. The next day we slowly woke up and drove to Snyder, where Grady has his family farm. Hearing Grady talk about how much he loves and misses his folks was just precious, but not as precious as his folks themselves. We got freshly-baked cookies and got to hear all about the new baby lambs! His parents are just great people. Great Oklahoma people. We left and drove back to OKC, dropping Jaryn off to meet her family for the grandma's "37th" birthday. I got to see Jar's dad, who is just so kind and welcoming. I loved the whole weekend, needless to say. It was damn hard getting on that plane to come back to school. Damn hard.

Now I've been thinking about Oklahoma folks in general. If you fell on a ski slope, an Oklahoman would stop to make sure you were OK, as Jar's dad would say. If a flat tire were keeping you on the side of the road, an Oklahoman would stop to help. If you are sitting at a restaurant, walking down the street, or doing anything, for that matter, an Oklahoman would say, "Howdy, how ya doin'?" These little things are just charming and it's what makes my home and my heart in that great state. I miss it always, and I'm always looking for a reason to go back, visit and be reminded of how heart-achingly awesome Oklahoma is. I will surely return someday, but for now I can sit back and admire how I learned to be a nice and friendly person from where I was born and raised.


Here are some photos of my dear friends at the wedding...