Warning: I'm overally emotional today and miss my family

I've been in an emotional state lately. Homesick isn't really the word, but I miss my family a heck of a lot. I'm getting ready to return (next Thursday!) to the States soon which has prompted me to reflect on the Whitby family a bit as I prepare to rejoin them for a few weeks.

From a mother who came to the States at 17, not knowing a single soul, not knowing the language, and becoming a woman who knows EVERYONE, befriends ANYONE, and loves unconditionally. To a father with a soft-soul and wise spirit who picked me up from grade school on his motorcycle and taught me to snowboard when he was pushing late 40s. A motivated sister with a heart for the least and lost, who followed her dream of becoming a doctor (despite the long days, tears, stress, the reality of death she encountered on a weekly basis and the phenomenon called life she witnessed all the same). And my baby brother. My not-so-baby brother who will be graduating from college in a few weeks with a degree in architecture. My amazing brother who has the ability to teach himself how to play an instrument within hours and transform something as ordinary as a plastic chair into an amazing piece of art.


I get to hug these people in less than a week.






I'm smiling right now.