Step by Step Parenting

Living 5000 miles away from home, and in a very different environment, nothing is more exciting or comforting than going home to Carolina for a few weeks! This past December, I made it my goal to squeeze in as much Chick-fil-A, Kimono, Cracker Barrel, Bojangles, Krispe Kreme, hiking, Mom’s cooking, sibling adventures, and MJ quality time as possible!

December 14 – December 27

My break from BYU-Hawaii was from December 14 to January 6, and I was so excited to have a fun time exploring the Appalachian Mountains and enjoying the holiday festivities. In just four days, I had Bojangles biscuits, Dewey’s pink lemonade cake, Kimono (my favorite!), and most importantly, my mom’s famous sugar cookies! I had a great time in my hometown, and I was definitely sad as the end of my time in North Carolina was drawing nearer.

After I recovered from jet lag (there is a six hour time difference, after all!), I continued to enjoy as much of North Carolina as I
could, especially spending time with my family (and puppy) after not seeing them for so long. I caught up with old friends, and was even home when one of my friends had her nineteenth birthday party! I’m so lucky to have friendships that withstand the thousands of miles between us, and I’m grateful that even if we haven’t talked in awhile, we can all pick up where we left off, as if we were never apart. My friends from back home are all doing such great things in life, and it’s been so exciting to see what we’ve all accomplished outside of little Winston-Salem!

While back home, after years of coloring my hair, I finally decided to get my natural color back! It was weird to go from long, blonde hair to short, dark brown hair, but it’s kind of fun to look so much more like my mom and sister now! Other than dying my hair, the rest of Christmas break in North Carolina was spent soaking it allll up.

December 28 – December 29

One of my Christmas presents was tickets to see the musical Hamilton on Broadway in New York City! Now, some background: not to be one of *those people* but I was into Hamilton before it was even well-known. I remember listening to the whole soundtrack from Youtube way back in 2016 in the late hours of the night, hiding under my covers- it was honestly a spiritual experience. It was so painful for me to see, once Hamilton became really popular, all of these people going to see the musical that they couldn’t POSSIBLY appreciate and love as much as I did! That being said, I definitely cried when I opened that present, I cried when I finally saw Hamilton, and my dad and I had an absolute BLAST in NYC! In less than (yes, you read that, less than) 24 hours, my dad and I visited the Top of the Rock, Times Square, the 9/11 memorial, the Oculus, the Flatiron building, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, AND saw Hamilton.

December 30 – January 3

After running around New York City, I flew home to North Carolina for a few days, unpacked and repacked my bags, and then flew off to the sunny city of Los Angeles! My grandparents have lived in Huntington Beach, Southern California for a looooong time, so I decided to pay them a visit before heading back to school in Hawai’i. I was only there for three-ish days, but in that time, we were able to visit the Getty Museum, Hollywood Boulevard, the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood sign, and the pier at Huntington Beach.

In less than a month, I was able to visit North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, California, and eventually, back to Hawai’i! I am immensely grateful for the life I live and the people I live it with, and can’t imagine a better way to start the new year. This past winter break was hectic, yes, but exactly what I needed before I started my fourth semester at Brigham Young University-Hawai’i. It filled my soul with wanderlust and adventure, and I can’t wait to see what the next adventure has in store for me!

Until then,

Megan D. Eldredge