Technology Fail

In my last post I mentioned that I relied on technology too much, and it got me into trouble when my nephew was born. I figured I'd enlighten you on this little story. My nephew was due to be born on June 6, 2013. I was unable to fly home for this, so obviously my only connection was my phone.

Well, a few days before this, I was carrying around my Samsung Galaxy S2, and I had to use the restroom...yes, it's one of those stories. It was in my jacket pocket and just slipped out before I could grab it. Epic fail. Needless to say, I was frantic. I got it as dry as I possibly could and I stuck it in a bag of rice. I got onto Google and searched for what I needed to do. I used a vacuum to get out any extra water that was in there, and I was freaking out. I called my mom through the home phone and told her to keep in touch with me through Whitney's phone and we would figure things out from there. So there I was, no phone, my nephew about to be born, and I'm 2,600 miles away. I left my phone to sit in the rice for a couple nights and had no results.

Josh, my brother, texted Whitney to let me know that Reagan, my sister-in-law, was going into the hospital the night of June 5. Whitney was great, and made sure that she was near me so I could receive any and all updates.

Early on June 6 Whitney woke me up telling me Josh was on the phone. Instantly awake, I started shoving questions at him. He was freaking out; he was almost a daddy! All I could do was cry and try and calm his nerves for the big day. We hung up, and I went back to sleep for a couple hours--occasionally interrupted by updates on how Reagan was doing. When it became a decent hour I called my mom and we filled each other in on our morning. FYI, my mom is amazing. While I was stressing about everything and my phone she mentioned that I should say a prayer and try to turn on my phone again. I did, and guess what? It turned on! I would have cried if I wasn't already!

Well, Reagan kept dilating, but no baby nephew yet. The day kept moving along and I had to go to work. Well, work is crazy, I was emotionally strung up, and the baby still wasn't born. About a half hour into work I was texted with 6 pounds 8 ounces!

 

Now I'm a proud aunt to Krew Justin Dennis!!

The moral of this story is--never take your phone into the restroom with you. Or near any water at all, just to be safe :) And don't be so reliable on it that it throws off your whole day!

Also--I have a pretty dang cute nephew (:

I Can Do Anything.

Remember how I went to Alaska?

Remember how I loved it?

Well...that love wasn't instantaneous.

Once upon a time I told you all about my issues with change. It's hard for me, and, since I've written that post, I've realized that it is something I will always struggle with. I can't get my mind to just be okay with it right off the bat. It takes a lot more time for me to be okay with something. 

Anywho...back to Alaska. 

Here I am, making a six-month commitment to live with people I didn't really know, work at a hotel with people I didn't know, live in a place I didn't know, on top of getting there in a 49 hour (just driving) car ride. Bytheway...the car ride was with someone I knew, but that's a heck of a long drive! Needless to say I was a little <caughlotcaugh> overwhelmed. However, I followed my little change routine and I went. 

Can I just say I cried when I got to the Johnson's house? I literally got out, gave Alicia a hug, and balled my eyes out...while the missionaries were there! Needless to say I was not ready to be in the Land of the Midnight Sun. At. All. However, I couldn't just turn my back on everything, so I went ahead to begin my adventures. 

You're probably thinking that I quickly learned to love it up there. That is not the case. My first week of work was overwhelming, and the tours hadn't even started yet. Once those started I was like a chicken with its head cut off. People were grumpy, I was still learning, and I still hadn't adjusted to my new home. My mom had told me that I needed to give it at least a month before I gave up, and I was giving it a valiant effort. I instantly loved the people I lived with, but they had already started to try and get me to commit to the summer of 2014.

HA. Yeah right.

Thus began, what I thought would be, the longest six months of my life. Now you're probably wondering what the point of this story is. I have a problem with talking a lot--and that goes right into writing a lot. So, deal with the length or just move on to the next blog. I promise I won't be offended :)

Technology is an amazing thing. It kept me in touch with loved ones and friends, and I relied upon it heavily. Which got me in trouble when my nephew was born...but that's a whole other story. I remember calling my Grandma Esther after I had been in Alaska for a couple weeks to just catch up. Of course, I got into talking about how I was struggling and not sure it I could make it through the summer (I'm a wimp...I know). My Grandma is awesome. She understood why I was struggling, but she did not think my mindset of 'not being able to make it' was good enough. As I continued to vent to her she stopped me and said, "Courtney, you can do anything for six months."

I agreed and we finished out conversation, and I continued to be caught up in my change-crisis. After a couple more weeks I really thought about what she said.

You can do anything for six months.

I tend to shorten that into, you can do anything; no matter what comes your way, you can do it. And that is when I started loving Alaska--after a whole month of pretty much committing to the worst summer ever.

And guess what? I'm going back for summer of 2014.

Want to know what's even crazier? I'm getting my CDL to be a tour guide and drive a HUGE bus. 

And...I'm going to love it.