Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

Fall in Stillwater is, without question, my favorite time of year. Unfortunately, I've spent less time in Stillwater this fall than I have since I moved into 309 Drummond Hall many moons ago. Between my trips out of town and a hectic work schedule, the season was passing me by. I was focusing on going, going, going, without stopping to take in the moment and appreciate all of the little things that make this wonderful place my home.  Then, last Saturday happened, and I was reminded just how short life is. Four people lost their lives and more than 40 others were injured during what should have been the happiest weekend of the year. They don't call it America's Greatest Homecoming Celebration for nothing. I was at home during the parade getting ready to go to the game. It was hard to focus as I found myself picking up my phone every few minutes to see if there was any new information about what had happened and listening to the helicopters pass over the house.  ...

Going into it, I was most excited about the volunteer aspect of our trip. This would give us a chance to see what life is really like for people in the DR and to get our hands dirty actually working on projects that would help them. Kyle was less excited about it going in but his attitude totally changed after Day 1. It turns out that instead of starting at 7:30 a.m. our volunteer days actually started with a hearty breakfast at 8 a.m., which wasn't bad at all. Kyle and I were actually up every morning waiting on our alarm to sound. We never quite adjusted to the unpredictable noises around us at night. The ocean was a wonderful constant but every now and then you'd hear bugs, bats, hogs, motorcycles form the road, voices, and, our favorite, the rooster that started crowing around 4:30 a.m. Combine that with the fact that it took us only 5 minutes to dress for the day, and that meant we were early to breakfast each day. After eating, we usually had just enough time to g...