Well, I’ve been back in Clovis for about a week. This week I pack and head back to Waco on Friday. It’s been a fast two weeks here, but it was good to have a little time to recharge before going back to school.

Today I got to see two very dear friends of mine from a long time ago. They moved my freshman year of high school, but we have kept in touch from time to time. The mother-daughter team just never ceases to amaze me at how encouraging they are. They are ladies who love the Lord and fill others lives with joy. You know that old song about letting “your little light shine?” That’s what these girls do. They are warm, bright lights for Him. Forget self-help books and the 10 “easy steps to find happiness” — go spend an hour with these women and you will leave deeply touched and smiling from ear to ear. Such beautiful servants of the King.

In other news, we have had two birthdays this week: my dad’s and my grandma’s. Thus, there has been a lot of cake in my life recently. Not to mention family. My little cousins are growing up so fast!

Also, I have come to the conclusion that backyard barbecues are my favorite thing about summer. There is so much to love: the food (i.e. watermelon), the outdoor games, the Hawaiian decorations, the talk of all that has happened during the school year and excitement about the year to come…. It’s a tradition I will miss a lot after this summer.

See, this is my last summer, really. At least my last school break. After this spring, I will (hopefully) have a job, working year-round. I probably won’t be home much, if at all. These two weeks were my last summer at home to just be a kid. I’m a grown-up now, or at least, I will be soon. I know I still have Christmas break to come back and spend a few weeks with my family before I head off into the world, but Christmas is a whole other set of traditions and fun.

The other day was also my last time to buy school supplies. This time-honored trip is, ironically, one of my favorite things about summer. It is centered around planning and anticipating and organizing – all things that make my Type-A heart flutter.

School supplies in college differ greatly from the watercolors and scissors we used to buy, as I told my sister who is going to be a freshman at Baylor. For example, some of my most time-consuming back-to-school shopping has actually been buying furniture for my new apartment. A new mattress led to a new bed, which led to a new sheet set and quilt, then I might as well get a matching dresser to the new bed since I need one anyway and why not get the bedside table to match? It’s like the children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”

I’ve also been writing for The Lariat ‘s Welcome Back issue. We are doing a huge issue for the first week of school so we have all been working already to make sure we have everything before our orientation next week. We will be working 9-5 all next week in preparation for the new school year. Until then, we are gathering all the content we can so we have less to stress about when we get there.

That’s really been my life in Clovis since I’ve gotten back from D.C.: seeing old friends, family life and writing for The Lariat. Sorry it’s not as adventurous as past posts, but more exciting stories will come with the move back to Waco and the new school year. Maybe even my last school year, depending on if I go to grad school someday. Still, this is the beginning of the end of my days as a “college kid.”