As I lay here on my last night in South Dakota, I’m thinking back on my week at home and I can’t help but think about how truly blessed I am. I was able to spend an entire week at home with my family. I haven’t been able to do that in almost 2 years! On top of that, Nathan came home with me and joined in on our Christmas traditions and it made my heart very happy to have him here with me. 

The trip had a bit of a rough start. Our plane out of Washington was delayed almost three hours, and by the time we landed in Chicago, we had 10 minutes to catch our flight. We sprinted across the entire airport and made the plane with only a few minutes to spare. Even though we made it, our baggage did not. Luckily a later flight came into Sioux Falls that night with our bags so we didn’t have to go too long without them. 

When we landed, we went right to my Grandma Reiffenberger’s to celebrate Christmas with my dad’s side of the family. It was great seeing everyone, especially those I hadn’t seen in a while! I got to meet some of my cousin’s kids for the first time, and I was overall very glad that we made our plane so I didn’t have to miss anything. 

The next day we went to my other grandma’s, where we spent the day watching football, eating good food, and just hanging out for a while. It was nice to see everyone there as well, as I don’t get to see them very often anymore. 

The rest of the week was very relaxing. We spent most of it eating, sleeping, and because we are an exercise family, we worked out a lot in my dad’s home gym: The Reifflex Center! It was great to spend time with my siblings, my parents, and of course my big baby, Zeus. 

And since it wouldn’t be a South Dakota winter without cold and snow, Mother Nature delivered with negative temps and a massive blizzard that lasted two days, resulting in almost a full foot of snow. We were stuck indoors for a few days, but it was fine with me as long as I had everyone I cared about surrounding me, and some good times as well. Nathan and I even braved the storm and went cross country skiing in the golf course across the street. It was fun, but a wee bit cold! 

Thursday evening, we went down the street to have dinner with Carletta Hauck and her entire family. Carletta is basically my second mother and their family is just an extension of my own family, so it was great to go spend some time with them and take some trips down memory lane. I was reminded of many good memories that night and was again reminded of how fortunate I was growing up surrounded by such wonderful people. 

To finish off the trip, the seven of us all went to a Jeff Dunham show Friday night at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center. I’ve never seen him live before and it was so good! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!! If you haven’t seen him, I recommend it. It was a great event to go to with family and laugh until you cry. 

Now, I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my plane to take me back to my second home in Virginia, and I’m both ready to get back into my routine, and ready to call my sister and tell her to come back and get me so I can stay with her for another week! I love coming home and it is so hard for me to leave everyone and head back. It is hard living so far from everyone sometimes. Someday, maybe I’ll be back in the Midwest, and these “see ya laters” won’t be so hard. Only time will tell! 

For now, I want to wish everyone a happy new year, and I hope you all had a Christmas that was as memorable as mine. Life is short so spend time with your loved ones and make some memories! 

I’ll see you all next year!! 🙂 

Megan Reiffenberger