Time has gone by so quickly this last year. Exactly one year ago today at this very moment (8:15PM), I was on a plane headed towards Vegas for what I thought was to be a two week visit but turned out to be the start of a year of firsts.
Until a year ago, I had never really traveled "alone." I've always had at least one other person with me. I had flown previously without at least one member of my family but never without a companion. I was completely by myself, no one to share the experience with. And as luck would have it, the plane that I was to take just had to be delayed. Which meant more time to try to find something to keep me occupied as I sat by myself.
Throughout this last year, I've been away from home for the first time for things like Thanksgiving and Christmas and missing all the stuff my family does for those holidays. It just didn't feel the same without all the rain. Or my family. It was just another day in southern Utah. It's been weird only being able to communicate with my parents and brother through only phone. I've been used to it with other family members due to not always living close enough by to visit. But it's been strange to not live with them anymore. It's all part of the growing up process, right? Cuz that's what I keep telling myself.
The other major thing that sticks out in my mind is that I did something I never thought I would do: I got a job at a fast food place. Until I had left Washington I had always said that I would never work fast food. Or even at a nice sit down restaurant. Just wasn't my thing and didn't want any part of it. Now (more days I'm there than not) I work drive thru at the local McDonald's. It's not as bas as I thought it would be for the most part. I like the GM and the people I work wit and the hours aren't too bad. The regulars are pretty awesome, too. Running into them outside of work is the weirdest thing. One of them I ran into roughly three or four times in a week and a half or so time span. Another I had run into at a local gas station on the way to a friend's house. There have been numerous regulars I've seen at the Wal Mart in town. However, I don't think they recognized me at all outside of my work uniform and my hair wasn't tied back.
I've definitely learned that it's not as easy as you would think it is to work at a fast food joint. There are quite a few days where I can't help but think that it's a numbers game: How fast you are, your order accuracy percentage, cash handling skills, etc. It's all about the numbers and how well they line up. Over the 11 months I've had the job, I've even learned how small this small town really is -- one manager live behind me, another one lives up the road from that manager, and a coworker lives across the street. And we definitely run into each other. But it's all apart of life... Right?
The best part of this last year? All the time I got to be with Jack that I wouldn't have gotten with him if I had stayed in Washington. We've gone through a lot and have gotten closer and learned how to deal with each other when something is amiss with one or the both of us. Any and all problems get dealt with sooner than they would have with us in different states. It hasn't always been easy but we didn't sign up for easy to start with when this relationship began. If either one of us wanted to take the easy way out, we would have broken up before this point and started seeing other people. But we haven't and will continue to work through the problems that arise. I can't imagine being with anyone else and wouldn't have our relationship be any other way.
