We Are Back!

It's been some time since I've written and I think I'll start again.

There have been many changes with the Riley clan since I've last written. To begin with, all 4 of our daughters are now married! Jessica had her first child in April 2015, Missy due in December. Mike & I have become licensed foster parents & currently have 2 little ones, 5mos & 22mos. To protect their identity, I will refer to them as Little Man & Little Princess. They've been here 6 weeks and its been quite the adjustment for these empty nesters! To be honest, both Mike & I are loving it!

What is New

Our precious grandson John, is coming up on 8 months. He's trying to crawl, and doing all the other stuff 'normal' for his age. Cheryl has turned out to be a wonderful mom, it has been such a blessing to see her progress. They are still living with us, Mike & I love having them. What a treat to have sweet baby John in our lives each & every day!

Missy was elected Military Ball Queen at her JROTC ball a few weeks ago, she was quite excited! 

Mike & I went on a marriage retreat with 18 other couples from our church. We had a wonderful time. It was great to get away and also gave us the opportunity to get to know some of the couples we worship with. Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage by Mark Gungor was a great choice for the weekend, I strongly recommend you google him, and be prepared to laugh! He uses Scripture from Song of Solomon, what a love book that is! (I came home & read it) 

One of the many things I learned was men really can think about 'nothing'. Strange, but apparently true. 

While at the marriage retreat, I was able to convince Mike to join me in karaoke, something that doesn't look like it would be difficult (karaoke, that is) but isn't as easy as I thought. It was a lot of fun.

God has been doing so much in our relationship since the first of the year, all praise goes to Him.

My mom had a small stroke on Feb 27 so I drove up to PA on the 28th and stayed until she went into rehab on Mar 1. She is home & doing very well, not using her walker much at all. Praise to God, things could have been so different! Even though it was not a pleasure trip, I so enjoyed spending time with my Jessica, my parents, siblings & other relatives as well as some friends. Of course, no trip to PA would be complete without breakfast at the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe and at least one burger with cheddar cheese & chili along with fries with the same. Jessica made sure I had some Oram's donuts to bring home with me too. I am planning an extended visit in June, unless God has other plans for me, of course.

Mike & I were asked to join to join the newly formed missions team at church and we are looking forward to the opportunities God has for us in this area. Mike continues to participate in the choir and is getting ready for the Resurrection Cantata. Missy & her boyfriend (Austin), Cheryl & her friend (Ryan) joined Mike & I for the church's showing of the movie, Courageous. This was a repeat viewing for all of us Riley's but the first for the gentlemen. This movie really does place importance on fathers and calls all fathers to step up and take responsibility for their families. What a huge change we would see in the USA if each & every man took this to heart.

He is here!!!

                       JOHN CHRISTOFER RILEY
                            6LBS 8OZ; 19".
                                  Aug 6 2011; 154am
 Proud mama Cheryl did a fantastic job, and had great support from Grandpa, Aunt Missy & Grandma. Grandma Spencer was unable to stay for the birth as the Navy already had her scheduled for drill. Mama & baby both doing well, praise God!

Part 2: The Grandkids Visit Grandma & Grandpa

Much of our time was spent at home, playing and doing 'normal' stuff. Of course, they did have to work for their keep:



Justin was in charge of breakfast. His scrambled eggs are the best in town!  Olivia was in charge of setting the table.




Grandpa built the kids a playhouse. He put 2 big windows on each side for cross ventilation and here he is painting the roof white to reflect the sun.





no one is too young to paint



Justin painted almost a whole wall himself!

 It wasn't all work and no play:


playing in the sand box with Aunt Missy





building with Joshua's Legos

The best $17 I ever spent!

Grandpa reads a story.

resting with Cleo and Chanel, see her peeking out from under Olivia's head?

Beach Fun with the Grandkids

Grandpa drove his motorcycle & I drove the kids in the car down to the 'ugly house' so we could spend some time at the beach. We spent 2 days there. 

We also enjoyed our friends, the Woleslagles, ribbon cutting ceremony. They are Sandals reps so if you need a vacation give them a call: 910 526 9446 also check out their facebook page: Something Special Weddings & Events

Lazy 5 Ranch with the grandkids

We had so much fun with Justin & Olivia. One of the things we did was visit the Lazy 5 Ranch, what fun!

This cow wrapped it's tongue around Olivia's arm.....of course I didn't get to see it but she & Cheryl sure did laugh about it!

Justin especially liked feeding the big, old, papa giraffe.

Part 1: The Grandkids Visit Grandma & Grandpa

For the first time ever, both Justin & Olivia were able to visit us in June! They were with us from June 4 - 23. Joshua's new orders moved him to Massachusetts. Instead of driving the entire family & the dog from CA to MA, the kids stayed with us while the movers came & packed up the house. Then Josh & Stacey and Gabby (the dog) drove east. I flew out to pick them up on Memorial Day & spend a few days. Justin, Olivia & I flew from Ontario CA to Dallas Ft Worth where we had a 3 hour layover. We had some lunch then were going to the USO when we discovered a children's play area. As nice as the USO's are, this was the perfect place for the kids to burn off some energy. Because Justin's reservations were made after Olivia & mine, he didn't sit with us, instead sat in a window seat both flights all by himself. I think he liked being 'big enough' to sit away from us.

Missy Finishes Her Sophomore Year of HS & Goes to the Citadel

Missy finished her sophomore year of high school, where has the time gone? It is hard to believe in 2 years she will be a high school graduate! 

Missy attended Officer Leadership Training at the Citadel June 13-18 and attained the rank of Lieutenant upon completing training. She's pretty excited about that. She said she loved being there, wants to go back but it was, in her words: h-e-double hockey sticks! She also came back wanting to go to Singapore as part of the leadership training school exchange program. I doubt either of her parents are big fans of that plan.

She has spent the summer with her mom & will be home on the 31. I, for one, can't wait, as I've been missing her. She's spent alot of time with her boyfriend, Austin; made some new friends; been to the beach a couple times and did some babysitting for some friends of Austin's mom.  I'm sure she will have lots to share and perhaps I can get her to write something here.

Prom 2011

Missy is off to prom, looking beautiful! She & her mom bought her dress when she bought her military ball dress. She & Austin look very nice & he took her to Lowe's Motor Speedway Club for dinner. 

What was I thinking??

I looked at the weather forcast for western PA and yet I still drove up here. Today, it is grey, chilly (that's being generous) and rainy, just like it was forcast to be!
It was a fun drive up here with Jessica. We spent about 2 hours at the antique store in Beckley WV; went to see the bridge at New River Gorge and had good conversation. We managed to turn our 7.5hr drive into 12! 
I've had an Oram's cream filled donut, 35cent pancakes at the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe, a freshly made burger with cheddar cheese & chili and chili & cheese fries at the same hot dog shoppe. Those were musts on my list of things to do while back home.  I'm enjoying spending time catching up with friends and visiting with relatives (especially Jessica). I wanted to go to one of my nephews track meet today but the rain cancelled those plans for me.
Shhh, don't tell Mike & Missy but I'm missing them greatly!

Central Cabarrus ROTC Earns Awards

Despite the lack of organization & all the changes during the last week of practices, or perhaps because of these changes, Central Cabarrus ROTC brought home several awards.  Missy was very happy for her friend, senior Marie C who placed first in female individual armed. Missy completed in AS1 unarmed flight, AS1 female unarmed element, placing 2nd in each event.

Here are pics taken from the drill meet held Saturday at Independence HS, Charlotte NC.

 Missy cuts up for the camera!

waiting for the judges before unarmed flight

In other news, Missy will have her wisdom teeth removed on Friday, all 4 of them.  I see lots of icecream and soup on the menu for the weekend!

Cinderella Goes to the Ball

Today is Saturday 05Mar2011, it is also the day of the Cabarrus County ROTC Ball. Missy has been waiting for this ball all year! This is also the evening of Missy's first date!!! Poor Mike, its tough for him to see his 'baby girl' growing up. Her date was her boyfriend, Austin. He is a nice young man even if he is one year older than she. His parents took them to dinner, then to the ball.
Some of you may not know but it is a joke between Missy & I that she calls me the 'wicked stepmonster' & I call her Cinderella. The joke today was if Cinderella didn't get all her chores done, she would have to stay home from the ball.
Here is our beautiful little girl, all dressed up with somewhere to go!

Missy Celebrates her Sweet 16!

Missy is celebrating her 16th birthday today! It is hard for me to believe that the little girl I met 5 years ago is now a young lady. Mike & I gave her a pair of freshwater pearls, ones she can wear with her ROTC uniform. She & Mike have gone on a father/daughter dinner date. Then we'll have cake & icecream when they get home. She requested me to make her cake again this year. Disclaimer, I am not Betty Crocker LOL. It looks like Mike & Missy are thinking, 'can we go already?'  They were!

 

What Have the Riley's Been Up To?

Missy enjoyed an entire week off of school, due to snow & ice. No one has told Cabarrus County about delays, only cancelling! She's had a total of 6 snow days this school year. One Saturday, 3 staff development days, President's Day & Good Friday will make up these days. Now I am from the north, and I don't ever remember going to school on Good Friday, nor did my kids, 'Easter Monday', yes, but never Good Friday. She is finishing up her first semester of 10th grade on a much better note than any of her previous years.

The snow was pretty, and you can see pictures on Sandy's blog, Thoughts & Creations From Here, There & Everywhere.

Sandy started 2 online classes at Rowan Cabarrus Community College. Success in College is a required 1 credit course, truly aimed at the new high school grad; Expository Writing will stretch her writing skills. She applied online for a 'merchandise restoration agent' (glorified name for stock person) and, after a lengthy questionairre, was told she did not meet the requirements! Today, she received a letter from an agency that puts companions in the homes of senior citizens, after applying there, was told they chose 'more qualified' candidates. So, she can neither stock shelves for JC Penney nor can she be nice to old people! She can, however, answer calls and take orders for those things you see being sold on TV. This is through LiveOps, she is considered a contracted employee & is paid per minute phone time. She says she cannot talk someone into buying something they don't want, but she can read a script. LOL She will also be certified to take orders for Pro Flowers within the next week. Sandy says she never needs to leave the house again! She could become a hermit, Missy said she will get her a shell!

Mike continues to work, both at JB Hunt and computer work for ABM. He also has the cat quite spoiled! She now will only eat the food he gives her! Keep in mind, he 'hates' cats!

Update on the grandchildren: Justin is doing very well in 3rd grade & Olivia started preschool a couple weeks ago. She told her mom the first day was 'super wonderful'! Who can believe she will be 4yrs old in less than a week?

Year in Review

2010 was an uneventful year, for the most part. There is a level of comfort in things staying the same.

Mike has had several projects going this year. He found a car on Craigs List; worked on it until it was road worthy & gave it to Cheryl. She found herself a new job, then a new boyfriend. Mike also bought himself a truck & it is close to being ready to inspect & license. Currently, he is working on a Dodge Neon for one of Sandy's sisters, who lives in PA. He's planning a road trip there after the first of the year. Renovations on the Jacksonville house continue, Mike has most of the drywall up in the master bedroom, closet & scrapbook room as well as a new window in the master bedroom. Olivia spent a week with us, in July. We took her & Missy down for a few days. One has to love the honesty of a 3yr old---Olivia walked through the door and stated: 'This house is ugly!' You know what, she is right--with all the construction & materials all over, it is ugly! We went to the beach & it was so much fun watching her play in the sand & in the water. Olivia seems to have no fear, no matter how many times she was knocked over by the waves, she didn't want to leave the ocean! Olivia is definitly Grandpa's girl & was so excited to fly from California to North Carolina for her visit.

Missy is enjoying 10th grade, in no small part due to her participation in Jr ROTC & their drill team. She takes pride in her uniform & no one's shoes shine like hers. Missy works hard to earn rank & has been promoted 3 times. She was promoted to Senior Airman Nov 20. Missy is anticipating turning 16 in Feb & Mike is even allowing her to take driver's ed & get her permit.

Mike & Sandy celebrated their 4th anniversary at a Bed & Breakfast in West Jefferson NC. The house was built in the 1800s & each room has a fireplace (changed to electric) & a 2 person claw foot tub. The innkeeper, Doc, was a delightful man & cooked scrumptious breakfasts. It was a nice couple days away & Sandy even gave up antiquing to stay & see cheese being made at the Ashe County Cheese Factory.

The one big change this year is that Sandy is no longer employed. Time will tell whether she gets her job back. We are confident that God's plan is perfect, if His plan is for her to do something different, He will open those doors. In the meantime, she's finding her inner Betty Crocker & Martha Stewart, catching up on her scrapbooking & card making & has started volunteering at a local soup kitchen on Mondays. Truth be told, she's enjoying being at home every day & suspects that Mike & Missy do too.

Buffalo Tavern Bed & Breakfast, West Jefferson, NC

             Missy calling female individual armed at a drill meet.



Mike & Sandy at a coffee shop, West Jefferson, NC

The vat in the back holds 20,000 lbs of cheese! We waited to see them pour the cheese into the round molds. 

 

We hope you are able to take the time to enjoy God's blessings in your lives & look forward to the adventure He has in store for you in 2011.



Summer wind up

Where did summer go so quickly? I like fall, other than the fact that winter follows it, how about you?
Missy is back to school, she is in ROTC this semester & has joined it's drill team. Between ROTC & Advanced Chorus, she may have time for her 2 other classes & the work they assign. She's starting off the year with a good attitude, and motivation to do well. She spent 6wks with her mom this summer. I think she had mixed emotions about it, while she enjoys visiting her mom, the drama this summer was a bit much. Her mom & stepdad are splitting up so you can imagine the climate in a 30ft camper.
Work keeps Mike busy 4 days each week. On his days off, he's found a pickup truck to fix up, and I'm happy to report he had it running within 2 days of bringing it home.
We had our granddaughter, Olivia for a week in July.  One week was just not enough! We both were on vacation so we had a grand time with her. We took her to the beach for a couple days, along with Graceanne & Missy. Olivia is fearless when it comes to water & I know Grandpa was a bit nervous!
I've gotten several scrapbook pages completed over the last couple weeks & have made some greeting cards as well. Its now time for me to start working on Christmas cards. I've got long Savannah overnights all month so I'll spend several hours each week on them.
Thats all I have time for today & I am going to try to write more often.

Its been a while, since I've written. There have been a few things going on but for the most part, everything is status quo. 
When I drove to PA for the HL tent sale, I also attended a family reunion, on my father's side. It was fun catching up with some family I haven't seen in several years.
Mike spent 4th of July in Green Bay, WI working on ABM's computer system.  Seems like everything has been running smoothly since.
My mom visited for a couple days, finally! I'm looking forward to her next visit.
Miss Olivia will be visiting us next week while Mike & I are both on vacation.  Mike is going to try and get her tomorrow, since I am finishing a 2 day trip. Olivia is excited to be flying with 'her Grandpa'. We plan to take her to PA for a couple days to see my parents and towards the end of the week, head to the beach. I believe Jessica will be with us & Missy's mom has agreed to let her go with us as well. We are also hoping Graceanne will join us for a day. We aren't sure if Cheryl will be working or not.

A very good friend's son, Ben Bevington, from PA fell from a ladder on July 7. He is 21yrs old and the drs are not hopeful he will walk again. Please join me in prayer, that whatever the outcome, God will be glorified; that Ben will be able to strengthen his faith & be encouraged. Pray that God will continue to meet financial obligations, as Ben did not have health insurance.  Thanks everyone.

Just Dishes?

I love FiestaWare, we use these dishes each & every day. Some of you may know these can be a bit pricey, if purchased at a store or online. Twice each year Homer Laughlin (the manufacturer) has a tent sale where they sell their seconds for very little. The plant is in Newell WVA (I know, can you believe it, made in the good ole USA). This is approx 35 min from where I am originally from, Beaver County PA. This year the timing of the tent sale happened to coincide with the bi-annual family reunion on my father's side. Hmmm, sounded like a perfect reason to take a road trip, rather than fly. Mike surprised me when I asked if I could drive up to PA and said yes. (Now before you all think I have to ask permission, relax.....I asked out of respect for his position as head of the household. Rarely does he tell me I can't do something. He preferred I didn't drive that distance alone so Jess flew down and drove back with me. I was really excited, knowing I was going to get some new dishes & also spend time with some friends/family I hadn't seen in a long time.
My plan was to leave by 5:30am June 23. We left at 6a and were on our way. Oops, about half hour from home, I realized I had forgotten my laptop. Since we were so close, I called & Mike met us about 15min away with my laptop. We said another round of goodbyes and off we went. It was an uneventful drive, Jessica & I chatted almost non stop. It started to rain right around the time we got to Beckley WVA so we stopped and spent about an hour or so in a big antique mall there. How fun to walk down memory lane. Jessica spent most of her time in the section with vintage clothes, hats & purses, coming away with 2 purses & 1 hat.  I didn't realize I was to get off 77 in Beckley so we ended up going all the way to Charleston WVA before getting on 79.  It was pretty cool to see the capital building but that detour added about an hour onto our already long drive!  

We finally arrived in Beaver County...I took Jess home & went to visit some dear friends of mine in Bridgewater. I then met Jess & Dave at the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe in Vanport for dinner, around 8p. Fresh burger with chili & cheddar cheese plus chili & cheese fries.....yummy! From there, Jess & I headed to Homer Laughlin, the plan was we would sleep in the car, I'd get up around 4a to stand in line for our tickets to get in (which they start handing out at 7a). Since Thur was the first day of the sale, I knew it would be busy.  Imagine our surprise when I pulled into the parking lot to discover a line of tents & chairs already set up! I was so unprepared, not a chair in the car. We went to the end of the line, where there were a bunch of ladies in chairs, underneath a canopy type thing. I explained how I had not realized I would need a chair and would they be willing to hold my place. 'No, you have to be physically here in order to hold your place.' was their response. Even the offer of cash did not change their minds! (can't blame me for trying though) Jessica had never been to this sale and all she kept saying was 'all this for dishes? 'They are just dishes'. We walked up to the front of the line, talking to people in line, I'm still amazed at this point, at how many are set up. Jessica was concerned about the weather forcast....called for high winds & storms through the night.....and what these people would do in that event.  This pic shows the last tent (with the clear plastic walls looking up to the front of the line. The next one shows the beginning of the line. These people were from Canada & had set up their tent around midnight Tuesday night, for the sale that started Thursday am! Can you believe it?

Jess & I went back to the car, I needed sleep. Mind you, we both had been up since 5a & it was now about 10p. I slept a bit then went back to the end of the line where a couple was setting up a tent. I explained to them my plight, what the other people had said & they were kind, told me not to worry, they would vouch for me. After thanking them, I went back to the car. Jessica wanted to call Dave so she went to our spot (by now held by an Aldi cold bag, box, and beach mat...all I could find in my trunk) to talk. She was out for about an hour & had fun telling me about the people behind us, from Canada. They set up chairs and covered 2 with a tarp, left one guy there saying 'will you be ok? do you want the xbox? anything? Ok, we are going to the hotel, see you in the am.' (guess he drew the short straw). We both slept a few hours & I got up around 430, took a couple more beach mats to our 'spot'. The concession stand was open by then so I was able to get coffee!  Jess joined me and we both got a breakfast sandwich & coffee. I'm sure this is a nice fundraiser for the youth organization that runs that stand. We sat & chatted with others behind us, finding out where everyone was from. Its amazing so many people come to this event. Not so amazing when you realize how many online/ebay stores there are selling Fiesta Ware I guess. Many of these people come for the entire 3 days, going into the tent multiple times each day. Each time in the tent, one is limited to 4 milk crates worth of product. For the record, I filled 3. The sun started to rise, it was beautiful.  I took a few pics of the end of the line, from where we were.    

Here is Jess, lower rt corner, the concession stand, upper rt corner and end of the line, right across from the truck that is parked.  Finally, it got close to 7a and the tents started coming down, we packed up our stuff and waited for our tickets. We were #s 81 & 82. Once we had our numbers we were free to go, had to be back by 915a. Jess & I walked to the convenience store and got more coffee, she painted her finger & toenails while waiting. We again lined up and starting moving down the hill towards the tents. Waited in line there, until 10a when they let the first people into the tents. We got into the tent before 11, were checking out by 11:30! There were so many things there!  Things I didn't see the first time I was there, 2yrs ago, in the afternoon of the 2nd day. I bought a few things for Stacey & a bunch of stuff for me.  Here are pics of my haul.

The first pic shows the 2 disc pitchers I bought; the 2nd the rest of what I bought for me & the peacock & cobalt are Stacey's. (and the coco wheat, since she can't get it in CA). There was another line of people waiting to go down the hill as we were coming back to the car, and we recognized several people who had been in the front of the line, going in for their second time.  Here's a pic of the line as we were leaving.

Much to my dismay, I did not take any pics inside the tent....I was on a mission, to find what I wanted and get out....LOL.  Oh, drat, I guess I'll have to go back next year and take pics inside the tents. Who is up for an adventure next June? 

Procrastinating

I'm not sure whether it is Mike or me who is best at procrastinating but we both are very good at it!  I'm sure you have noticed, if you follow this blog.

We went to Mike's sister's retirement from the Air Force in May. It was great meeting this sister & seeing his dad & another sister again.  Since the ceremony was in NJ, we stayed in Wilmington DE with my best friend & her family. This was the first time Mike had visited and he fit right in, kept them entertained with his military and growing up stories. He absolutely loved hanging out with my godson, who will be 10 next month.  I'm sure you all will be jealous but sorry ladies, this handsome guy is all mine!

I was also able to spend a couple days in CA with the grandchildren, oh, yes, Josh & Stacey were there too!  While I always have a great time when I visit, the highlight was when Justin brought his shark books to read to me. This is when he dropped the 'Sandy' from Grandma! (for those of you who don't know, we became Justin's grandparents when Josh married his mom). Miss Olivia came to me with this request: "We need to go to the Home Store and buy me some Dora skates." Apparently she had been wanting them for a while but Stacey kept putting her off. As you have probably guessed, as soon as Justin got home from school, we all went to the Home Store!  Here she is, practicing. 

And here is Josh & Justin putting together his new toy....I don't remember what it is called but I guess its pretty popular and a spin off of Pokemon? He also got swim goggles. He is so sweet, he was going to get less expensive ones but they weren't the ones he really wanted. I'm Grandma, he got the ones he really wanted! (btw, they were less than $10)

I have no idea why this wont allow me to have the alignment on the left, I've tried to change it to no avail.

Missy has finished her freshman year of HS, is glad to have that over and done with. She will start her 6 weeks with her mom on Monday.  I was back in Wilmington DE last weekend for the graduation of my best friend's daughter. I met her when she was 3! Not exactly sure how she grew up so fast but it just seems like last week she was starting school! It was a fun time, Jessica was with me, Graceanne had to work. It was nice to spend some time with Jess, first at home here with Mike & Missy, then in DE. Jessica brought us our Christmas gifts. (yes, its been that long!) Missy loves the fashion sketching books & of course, I love the scrapbooking books! For Mike, a new DVD, Jessica knows how much he loves movies!  She will be back in DE when she will be pet sitting in August, when they take Kylie to college. They have 2 great danes, 1 wiemeramer (spelling?) 3 birds and 2 cats. The love bird, Charlie, really took a liking to Jessica.

Mike is back to work as of this past week. No, they have not figured out what is wrong with him. Yes, he still gets the pain in his side when he stands any length of time but the pain meds seem to be making it bearable. All of you who know Mike knows he is not one to be off work for any length of time so I'm sure you are not surprised he went back. I'm not saying Mike is stubborn or anything but he is Irish. Thats all I'm saying.

I am giving serious consideration to attending the Creating Keepsakes Convention here in August, anyone want to come with?  I would even move the scrapbook stuff off the bed in the guest room for you. I have been diligently working on finishing Jessica's books. Finally. I have her senior year to do and then finishing touches on her formal dances & dance books. I am committed to finishing these before starting on Olivia's and she is now almost 3 1/2.

I will go back to work in the morning, have enjoyed being home all week & catching up on some household chores that have been neglected lately. Can anyone explain to me how the inside of a fridge gets so dirty??

I also plan to go to the Homer Laughlin tent sale the end of the month, anyone need some Fiestaware?  Let me know. If you'd like to make the trip with me, the more the merrier!

That's it for now, if you are in our neck of the woods please feel free to stop in or give us a call and we'll be glad to meet up with you.

Freshman Year

(I have finally convinced Missy to write a blog entry for our family blog)

The end of freshman year. I never thought it would end this fast. It feels as if just last month I was starting at Central Cabarrus, and here I am wearing a CCHS Viking’s T-shirt that has phrases like, “best friends forever” and “I’ll miss you”. When the truth is… they aren’t my best friends, and if you really think about it, I won’t miss them, and they probably wont even remember me next year.


Honestly, I won’t miss Central one bit over the summer. No, I will miss every bit of Central. At Central Cabarrus, there’s more to life than homework and test scores. There is a whole other life. My freshman year has been filled with this other life; some of the good and at times it felt like most of the bad. The other life at CCHS, is a life not many have found yet. (Those are the people stumbling to your left, who are also violating the dress code and disrespecting the faculty) I had a hard time recognizing this life. This other world. I pushed and shoved it away when it came to me with open arms. These last few months however, I have found, this other life is a place where people know who their true selves are. I thought I knew who I was as a person in the beginning, but now I realize how wrong I was. I finally welcomed that side of Central into my life.

I have learned that life isn’t always easy, sometimes problems can come at you in multiple directions. That person you wanted to believe you could “love” “forever and always”, sometimes you just can’t. Sometimes love isn’t always true. Sometimes, you have to take a step back and look at things through the eyes of an adult. Sometimes, you have to break someone’s heart. And when your real best friend starts to branch out and find herself, sometimes you have to hold dear the old memories and make room for the new. I have learned people will make attempts to hurt you, but whether they fail or succeed is your choice to make. Sometimes it isn’t your choice though. Sometimes, you will get hurt, you will fall down, but when you pick yourself up and hold your head high, that is not defeat. That is courage and bravery. I have learned to hold on to friendships others throw away. To forget about all the hurtful remarks and make friends with the boy whom used to tease you in the sixth grade. (Usually, those people have an amazing story to tell that will warm your heart and hold onto them tight so they can’t get away.) To look back on friendships (and yes, even the boyfriends you weren’t allowed to have) and remember all the good times you had and trash all the bad.

Most of all, and this one was the hardest, I learned to stop trying to change myself for other people. I learned to except myself as the person I truly am. I learned that if I can’t be myself around someone then I shouldn’t be around him or her at all. If you are constantly taken aside and told how to act, then that person isn’t worth your recognition. I have many friends who are dealing with this problem right now. They know who they are, but people are telling them to change. It’s a constant battle for control… a battle I once fought too. I choose to fight it or be apart of it, no more. It’s wrong to try to change people. They are who they are, whether you like it or not is your problem.

I am who I am…and I have a lot of growing and changing (on my own, I may add) to do. And yes, I will miss those dreadfully cruel eight hours of my day being wasted. I may even miss the homework, oh no, sorry, that was a typo. The correct statement would be: I will NOT miss the homework, or the eight hours. My apologies to my teachers but honestly, (on a lighter note) IT’S SUMMER!!!

- Melissa Riley