Amy's Blog

For those that are around me a lot or talk to me frequently, it is no secret that I have had a lot going on with work the last few months and have been in high stress mode.  If it isn’t work related, chances are, I’m not doing it.   And, it is also no secret that my stress management and coping skills leave a little something to be desired. Hopefully I will start to balance out this summer.

This weekend I took a break from some of the work related demands and had the chance to spend some time with some of the most important people in my life.

Friday night, I hurried home from work at 5:00 so that I could get changed and ready to go to the wedding Mass of a long-time family friend.  This friend works for the Church in young adult ministry and, although he is in his fifties, he  just has an exceptional way of dealing with and relating to teenagers and young adults.  There were so many great things about Friday night.  First of all, I got to see two of my cousins and their families that I don’t see often because they live two hours away.  One of my cousins has the sweetest three girls, one in college, one in high school, and one in elementary school and it is so fun to catch up with them and what they have going on in their lives.  Their mom, although my dad’s first cousin, is like a big sister to me and has been there for me during many tough times during my life.  I just love them all so much and it was great to sit with them during the wedding and then hang out at the reception.

I also got to see the groom’s daughter who is my age – we lived in the same dorm freshman year at K-State.  It was fun seeing her as I maybe bump into her once ever other year or so when we are both back in her hometown where my family lives.

The wedding was very nice.  The Mass was beautiful, I loved the music, and with both the bride and groom being youth leaders, they incorporated several young people into various parts of the Mass.  It was very simple, with no frills, which I think allowed the couple’s love for each other and faith in God to really shine through and take center stage.  It was so refreshing because I don’t know if I have ever attended a wedding quite like it.  The best part was that in all the years that I have known the groom, I have NEVER seen him so happy, he was beaming with joy and it was such a great sight.

I don’t know if I will ever get married, but if I do,  I have another good example of how to do it right.

I drove home at the end of the evening with warm and fuzzies after having had such a great time celebrating with family and friends.

The next morning I headed to one of my favorite local hotels for a gathering of Potawtomis in the region.  I’ve blogged several times about our family’s Native American roots :http://wp.me/sSE1o-26 , https://amyguerich.com/2010/08/23/cleveland/ ,https://amyguerich.com/2010/08/23/nashok-maket/.  Every year, the tribal leaders – chairman, vice chairman, and the legislators host informational meetings around the country to teach the tribal history, given an update on the current political and economic landscape of the tribe, and to get folks geared up for the annual festival that takes place on the reservation in Shawnee, Oklahoma during the last weekend of June every year.  I met up with some of Grandma’s siblings – Aunt Maureen and Sister Ginger had ridden to town with Uncle Jerry and Aunt Hildegard and cousin Pat who lives here in town too, also joined us.  We sat together and had a nice time visiting over a nice lunch of baked chicken and BBQ brisket.  I always enjoy anytime spent with Grandma and her siblings, so this was a real treat.  I am so fortunate that there is such longevity in the family.  Grandma is the oldest at age 90, and the youngest, Uncle Jerry, just celebrated his 81st birthday last week.   The only downside to the wonderful morning and nice lunch was that I had to eat and run.

My KC best girl friend and I were headed of to Manhattan to celebrate commencement with the class of 2013.  One of my very best KC friends, fellow KSU financial planning grad, and industry buddy was giving the commencement address to the KSU College of Human Ecology graduates, which is where we had both received our financial planning degrees some years before.  We had planned to attend the commencement ceremony and then planned a dinner get together with a group of friends afterward.  Graduation was running about an hour behind schedule, which made me feel kind of bad because I could have spent more time with the family in KC, but oh well, how was I to know?

Graduation was awesome! It brought back so many memories to 7 years ago when I was walking across that same stage at Bramledge Coliseum.  My friend’s speech was fantastic! I was totally blown away! He did a great job relating to the students and was so well spoken! I have heard him speak several times in various capacities and will say that in my opinion, this was his best delivery yet! It was so great sitting next to his mom and dad as they beamed with pride and mom even teared up a bit!

After the ceremony, my KC best friend and I paid a visit to her mother-in-law who lives in Manhattan and was busy helping set up for her friend’s daughter’s graduation party.  I got to see some parts of campus that have changed quite a bit since I left Manhattan.  After our visit, we headed to the restaurant where I had made dinner reservations for 8 of us.  It was so much fun!! Some of my very favorite people – including my best friend from college –  and the only one that I really still keep in touch with from school, and her husband joined us and we had a great time catching up.  We also had the pleasure of the presence of our former department head who lead the our department when we were going through the financial planning program.

I got to cap off my weekend by lecturing at the adult confirmation Mass led by the Archbishop hosted at our Parish.  It was great to be a part of such an important day for all of those being confirmed.   And my reading happened to be one of my favorites!

I really really appreciated this weekend as my social time and family time have been very limited over the last several weeks.  I was so grateful to spend time with so many people that I love and care about.  It was a pleasure and hopefully some fuel to get me through some more stressful times to come.  When I think things are tough, I need to remember that I really am very blessed and I should make it more of a point to consider that more often.  I love and appreciate my extended family and true close friends.