The Moment I Realized I'm a Blackwell with Standards....almost

First things first......raise your hand if you know one of the Blackwell boys. If you aren't raising your hand, well, I don't know if I'm happy or sad for you. They're a unique bunch, that's for sure. 

Here are three things that every Blackwell male is known for:

1. They can talk to a brick wall. No joke. I've never gone somewhere with one of them where they haven't either known some random person or made friends with some random person. This is one trait that I am actually pretty okay with getting from them. It comes in handy for lots of situations. Trust me.

2. They are late for EVERYTHING. Seriously. If you want to be somewhere on time you might as well just go without them. However, growing up with men like this has made me agree very much with needing to show up fashionably late to most situations. 

3. They don't let things go to waste. Food, clothes, toys, anything. You name it, and they will find a "use" for it. My Uncle Flipper has even been known to dig through trash to get some treasured item.

Which brings me to my story......

Today, though I am not necessarily proud, I channeled my inner Uncle Flipper. 

It's a normal day in the life of Andi. You know, wake up, go to work, come back to the 217, watch Netflix, read Harry Potter, nap, read more Harry Potter, decide to do something productive and take the trash out. 

I travel the long distance across the parking lot to the dumpster and what do I see just out of reach? A golf bag IN PERFECT CONDITION. Come on, college kids. Why would you throw such a great bag to waste? If you can't fit it in your car the least you could do is take it to Good Will. There was no need to put it in the dumpster. 

So, super sad with my peer, I head back up to my apartment to text all of my family to explain what I just saw. I was kinda happy with myself however, because this was the moment I realized I had this not wanting to waste anything trait, but with a twist.....I had standards. I didn't dumpster dive.

Well immediately everybody texts back saying it was stupid not to climb in the dumpster to get the bag because somebody could use it. The more responses I had, the more I realized what a stupid move I was making.

"That's what showers are for Andi!!" - Tiff

"No question should have climbed in n got it" - Uncle Flipper

"Get the bag and give it to me!" - Chan

"You'll get hurt- don't do it" - Mom (Classic response from the fun sponge)

"Don't you have a fishing pole?" - Aunt Karla

"Go girl!! Make sure someone gets a picture of this please!" - Tiff

"I agree with Tiff!" - Alex

Obviously if I didn't go fetch the bag I would never live this down. 

So I went.

And I dove.

And I fetched.

And I won.

And she's packed snug in my trunk to deliver to my brother tomorrow night. Hopefully there wasn't a rodent in it. In that case, my Uncle Flipper will be getting a call because I have not graduated to that level of him yet.

Now that I've showered and scrubbed all of my skin off, I think it's time to just relax with some more Harry Potter and Netflix for the rest of the night.

#NoShame

Turning Pages and Moving On

First things first.....yeah it's been a long time since I've posted. However, it was finals time and I was being a good student and focusing on my studies..... Actually I talked about needing to study more than I actually did. Finished my semester with all A's though, so that's a check in the win column for me. Score.

Also this month's happiness project is being in the present and focusing more on the real world and less on the virtual world. So there is another of my excuses for not posting. 

ANYWAYS. Now for the reason I am posting today. My brother and all of his friends have graduated and have completed their careers in sports....well the majority of them anyways. There are a few who will be playing sports in college. 

While there are SO many people in his grade that I have grown up around and love dearly, I'm really just going to focus on the group of boys I have been around more than I ever hoped for. 

These boys have been playing baseball together for a decade. Which means I have been sitting at the fields complaining about being either bored, hot, or hungry for a decade.

When the boys were younger they were on a traveling team together. Many of our vacations involved being at some random city for a baseball tournament. The best of these was obviously Branson, but we didn't get to do anything cool except Ride The Ducks so I will forever be mad at them for that. 

Yeah, they all played other sports. Most of them played football which is obviously way more fun to watch. However, I grew up watching them on the baseball field. As much as I complain and carry on about how bored, hot, and hungry I am, I think in the upcoming years this is what I will miss the most. 

I don't have a picture of them when they were younger and I really wish I did because they were much cuter then than they are now. They actually are much nicer to me now compared to when they were younger though. I guess they FINALLY just realized how cool I am and that it's a much better idea to be my friend. About time they got smart. 

Throughout this past decade, I was closer with some of the boys than I was with others. No matter what though, they're all family. Tyler, Zach, Devan, Justin, Gannon, Tyler, Chandler, Austin, Brandon, Cullen, Tristan, and my real life brother, Chandler. All of these boys are little brothers that I never asked for but got stuck with.

This past decade has had so many ups and downs, but no matter what I will always be so proud of them all. Even after all these years when they hit a home-run they always cross home with that same goofy, boyish grin they had when they were 8. Watching Tristan pitch on senior night probably made me happier than when I had my own senior moments. Seeing that a few of them will go on and play ball in college. Watching these boys grow up has been my favorite thing. 

Of course I need to send out a little shout out to our baseball family. The moms, dads, brothers, and sisters have all been there just the same. Without all of them, my life would be a lot more dull. I'll miss hanging out with them just as much. 

Finally, I want to talk about how happy watching this kid play sports throughout life has made me.

Not only is he a great athlete, but he's an even better person. I can't even begin to explain how many times I have heard somebody come up to mom and tell her how excellent of a sport he was and they were really impressed with him for that. 

Well being a classic older sister for a minute, I couldn't agree with them more. Except for his occasional fits when he made a mistake. Those were ridiculous and I don't claim to be his sister during those. Yikes. 

But seriously. I always knew that Chan would be the first one to give out a high five or a congratulations to a teammate. He also was always there to literally help someone from the opposing team up off the ground when they were down. 

I really will miss all of these boys next year. And I have no idea who I am supposed to watch play sports anymore. And who is going to eat all of the food and candy at home? And what am I going to do without them constantly making fun of my life? 

My little brothers are all grown up. I couldn't be more proud. 

Thanks for making me have slightly tougher skin. I don't know what I would have done without y'all constantly picking on me. 

If those of you coming to Mizzou next year see me on campus, don't take it personally when I don't wave back. I never wear my glasses. 

Peace out, boyz.