Living the Single Life: 4th of July

Most of my adventures are kept quiet to my Simply Singing in the Rain family to avoid coming across as boastful. I know some of you out there are introverts (yes, I am an introvert) like me who like to keep to themselves and if it weren't for a few great friends and family we would be hermits. Most of my nights are spent surfing the far reaches of the Internet and somehow ending up on the weird side of YouTube. However, I do go on "adventures" as I like to call them and I thought I could encourage some of you in knowing that single people can have fun too...in fact, single, introverted people can have fun too...also, single, introverted, awkward, people can have fun...let's just say, people in general can have fun. I hope you enjoy as you come along my July Fourth adventure.

It was a warm July day and my family and I (well, my dad and brothers) were packing the car getting ready to head to New York where my aunts, uncles, and grandparents lived. We were visiting them for the Fourth of July weekend. It was a quick trip to catch up on each other's lives and reconnect with our loved ones. All of 6 of us piled into a 7-seater with our luggage and drove speedily down the highway towards our destination. It was a little cramped but doable and we were all happy to save money on gas. The way up to New York was pretty uneventful with only one memorable stop and that was at Bill Gray's to purchase and consume a garbage plate. What is a garbage plate you ask? A garbage plate is built on macaroni salad and home fries topped off with a hamburger or hot dog or both (yes with all the fixin's). My sister-in-law and I had not seen much less eaten one of monstrosities but had heard many tales (some bad and some good) of it's tastes. We decided to share a garbage plate and partake in whatever it had in store for us. We split the food and feasted on our newly found treasure. Everything tasted great on it's own and combined together had a very unique flavor that I am unable to describe. It tasted like a picnic you would have on a weekend like the Fourth of July. I am glad though that I split the plate with my sister-in-law because I would have not been able to eat the whole thing. The unique flavor was a little too much for me after a half of a plate. After our feast was over, we headed back out to complete our journey. We arrived in the late afternoon evening at my Babchi's house. Side note: Babchi is Polish for Grandma. We chatted a little while with her and joined her for dinner. There is one thing that I will always equate Babchi with and that thing is food. Babchi shows her love to us by feeding us. When she was not so up in years, she would make chicken noodle soup, spaghetti sauce, homemade cookies, cakes, pies, you name it and she would make it from scratch and it would taste like manna from Heaven! The last couple of years have not been kind to my Babchi and she is growing older. I know that the time for her to pass on from this earth to Heaven is growing closer each day. It has become a ritual for me to stay overnight with her whenever we visit so I took opportunity when it was presented. I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible since we visit her a few times a year. She encouraged me to continue on and promised to pray for me. I know she has and will continue to do so. I will miss her but that's what Heaven is for right? To catch up on all those moments that we missed!

The next day brought along new adventures with my Rogers' side of the family. But first let me take a selfie:

There! I've got that out of the way. We traveled to my Grandma and Grandpa Steve's trailer and had a picnic. The table was full of different meats ranging from hot dogs to pork loin, salt potatoes (yum!), salads, desserts, and snacks. Our Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bill joined us for a delicious meal and bonfire. Before we gorged ourselves on the delicious food, my Uncle Bill invited me and my brother Eric for a boat ride. It was a strapping yacht weathered by the salt of the mighty oceans of the world...*clears throat*...I might have exaggerated just a little but you'll never know! We pulled out into the mighty Seneca River and Uncle Bill pulled the choke on the motor and we.....sat. He jokingly stated that we would have to paddle all the way up the river. He pulled again and nothing happened. Thankfully, he did have an electric motor and we cruised up the river at the whopping speed of 5 mph. It was a lovely cruise (thankfully not a 3-hour tour) and we arrived back at the dock well rested and hair in place. My Uncle Bill joked again stating that he'd never live this one down. Nope, Uncle Bill! It's out here for the rest of the world to see. We arrived back at the trailer famished from our thrilling ride and stuffed ourselves with the goodies. We talked and shared stories about my Poppy. Poppy was my first grandpa. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was 9. The next day we visited his grave and paid our respects.

The rest of the day was filled with Gina and Joe's pizza and a visit to Willow Bay. The best pizza on the planet!!! True authentic New York style pizza! Yummy! Want to see it? 

We visited Willow Bay and saw this humorous sign that made the Grammar Nazi in me twinge with disgust....

I don't think I'll recover from that. Sunday was the day we said goodbye to our friends and family and made the long, cramped journey back to Ohio. It was worth it and I came away with a sense of thankfulness for my family. We may have some characters but they are there for us whenever we need them.

Until next time,

Be Happy Wherever You Are

Always Sing in the Rain

Christa

P.S. Don't forget follow us on Twitter @ChristaBall87 and click here to like us on our Facebook page. We have a contest going and first prize is a $50 gift card. Love you!

From My Heart

Today was a bad day. Today a tsunami wave of depression crashed upon the shores of my heart threatening to destroy all the progress I made in the past year. It's terror swept me out to the angry sea. The howling winds matched the force of the anger the black sky showed. Heavy raindrops pelted my skin with unwavering ferocity. Cracks of lightning followed by the sound of thunder flashed across the angry sky. The weight attached to me threatened to pull me under any second. I struggled to avoid drowning and my only thoughts were to keep my head above water. I didn't want to go under again. After all of the progress I had made in the last year, I just couldn't. The storm finally let up and I made my way back to the shore of safety and rested. The horizon was no longer dark with menacing black clouds but was brilliantly light by the bright sun. A few wispy clouds slowly crawled by and a small breeze began to blow. I had made it out and I had survived another storm. It was going to be ok, actually I was going to be ok.

I sat alone in my bedroom at midnight trying to hold the tears back. I had to be strong and I couldn't face it. The hurt pierced my heart like knife and there was no way I could break free. I tried my best to ignore it by going to my #1 comfort: food. I resisted the bag of Birthday Cake M&Ms on my dresser and decided to read my Bible to try and suppress the feelings deep inside of me. "Why me? Why couldn't it be me?" my thoughts rang out. I couldn't listen to them or I would cry. I couldn't concentrate at all and soon enough, my thoughts overwhelmed me as I began to softly weep. I thought to myself, "How stupid is this? There are people in the world without food, jobs, good health, parents, etc. and you are crying about this. Stop it Christa!" I gasped for my breath and tried to calm myself down willing the tears to stop but they wouldn't. I would gain control for a moment only to lose it in the next. I couldn't help but think what my friends and family would think if they saw me here in my bedroom in tears crying over this stupid reason. I imagined some of them would call me a fool and tell me to get over myself. There would be one who would tell me to be patient and of course the one who would look at me in pity and shake their head. It's not easy being single in a relationship-minded world and some have forgotten what it's like. For those who can't comprehend what I'm saying, imagine that for 10 years of your life you wanted a job. Everyone else around you (or so it seemed) had a job and enjoyed it very much. They constantly talked about their job, about how much fun it was, and how rewarding the benefits were. You knew in your mind that there were downsides to having a job: arguments with the manager, lousy pay, and strict rules but you knew in your heart that the positives outweighed the negatives. You would voice your opinion to others on how much you wanted a job but no one could give you one....you had to find one yourself (figuratively). You were told to be patient, it'll come when you least expect it, or you've got nothing to worry about. The years began to drone on as other friends were hired into wonderful jobs with some even getting benefits right away. All the while, the only advice you have received is patience. You try to ignore the feelings of frustration by eating, music, writing, etc. anything that can take your mind off the situation but yet it's still there. Some days you feel anxious and excited for what the future holds yet other days holds depression and angry questions of why. Most of your friends now have jobs and it seems like every time you turn around someone else just became a new employee while you stay in your rut of joblessness. There is no end in sight. Tell me, how would you feel? Happy? Joyful? Sad? Depressed? Singled out? Now, replace the thought of a job with the thought of a spouse and you've got a taste of what a single person has gone through.

Yes, there are other people in this world without jobs, homes, food, family, health, etc. but you and I are a humans and we have feelings. I'm here to tell you it's ok to feel that pang of sadness when someone announces a new relationship, marriage, baby, etc. It's ok to cry and let it out. It becomes not ok when we dwell on it letting it fester in our lives until we become bitter at the world around us. I understand your heart and how badly you want this but it'll be ok. There is no stronger person than someone who has been single for any period of time so I have no doubt you'll make it through. Go ahead and cry but when you finish wipe away your tears and hold your head up high because you have nothing to be ashamed about. Now, go out and help those that are without food, jobs, homes, family, and good health. Invest your time into things that do good for the community, others, animals, churches, etc. Don't dwell on it! However, when the time comes that the sadness is too much, cry it out, scream it out, do whatever you feel you need to do...then pick yourself back up and continue on. You can do it! You will make it! If it gives you any comfort, I am in the same boat/ocean you are. I understand what you are going through to the max believe me, I do. Keep going!

Until next time,

Be Happy Today!

Christa