TAG

Hello everyone, and Happy Memorial Day!

I wish I could be on a dock right now, laying in the hot sun, and listening to country music.  That's what you're supposed to do on Memorial Day right?

You may be wondering about what my post title is all about.  Well, here's the big reveal.  Liz and I have joined a Tag Rugby team....yeah...I know. We know nothing about rugby, and have probably only watched 2 games. But our friend Ellie from work invited us to play on her team, and we decided to just try something new.  And boy, we are new.

Our team is called Victoriously Secret, and it is one giant team broken up into two smaller teams that play in two different competitive leagues.  There is an A-Team, and a B/C Team. Wild guess as to which one I am on. But surprise surprise, Liz and I aren't bad at all! Well Liz is actually good, she takes to sports like a fish in water.  I am good on defense, I have cat-like reflexes and I can tag people like crazy! But when it comes to the running with the ball part, and the throwing backwards part....I'm a C- at best.

The tag rugby we play is co-ed.  Tag is a no contact sport, so don't worry I probably won't get tackled.  Though some people have been known to break fingers while playing.

By pulling off the tags of the person with the ball, the play stops, and you have to line up  for another attack.  

The people on the team are so fun, and they have really embraced our lack of skill and ridiculous outbursts.  We have acquired many nicknames on the pitch, Yanks, Tex, Texans, Lauren-or-Liz-whoever-you-are, and my favorite one that Liz got called, Yankee Doodle. We had our first game last Thursday and we finished the first half down by 14 points :( But by the end of the game we had come back only to lose by 1 point, so we definitely improved. Liz scored 2 tries (like a touchdown) and was voted player of the game!! I was so proud of my little Yankee Doodle.


But me, well...while Liz makes America and especially Texas look awesome. I'm over to the side like...

                             

Emily and Maura surprised us at our first game! They were so proud

Anyway, enough about rugby! Time is flying by over here. I realized that I only have about 3ish months left on my visa.  That is crazy. I feel like I just got here.  I am sometimes asked by people if I plan on staying longer (especially by my friend JJ, he is begging me to stay, he loves me so much ).  The answer to this is, no. I am not planning to stay longer than my year long holiday visa.  I am ready to start a more permanent life back in Texas.  I miss Texas. A lot. I miss my dogs. I miss my car. I miss my family and my friends.  I just miss my home. As much as I feel like I have settled in here, I am still a foreigner here.  It's a strange feeling if you've never experienced it before.  

It's sunny outside, and I want to go enjoy it! So I'll finish with the traditional song.  This is Chasing the Light by Mat Kearney.

He is one of my favorite artists.  I love his voice, there is just something about it. It sounds so inviting. I love this song because it is how I felt coming here, and now how I feel knowing I will leave soon.  I feel like I do keep chasing the light, and I just keep trying to figure out where God wants me next.  This takes patience and it takes courage, two things that are really hard to find sometimes.   This song reminds me to look back and remember how scared I was of change in the past, and probably how scared I will be in the future as I keep changing.  It makes whatever is happening right now not seem so monumental.  Go get his album, the whole thing. It is great.  Thanks Jared Reaves for showing him to me all those years ago!


That's all for now,
Love Lauren