My Social Media-less Life

Sometime toward the beginning of this year, my roommate was listening to a teaching (that’s the over-simplification of what it was) and the speaker was using the example of certain types of cicadas that come out every 17 years and then asked the listeners what they were doing 17 years ago since the world looks so different than it did back in 2009.

Fun fact: many of my blog post titles come from songs that I’m listening to at the time inspiration hits and may not actually have anything to do with the blog post itself.

However, this is one of those instances that the title does have something to do with the post. Between 2007-2009, I was introduced to the artist formerly known as B.Reith. Later on, he decided to go by Brian Reith, but that’s not important to the story.

What is important is: Listening to his first full-length album takes me back to that time of my life in a way someone simply asking “what were you doing in 2009” ever will.

On the album, B.Reith had a song titled “Wish That” and while the song was talking about a broken relationship and how he wished he could just go back in time and not be dumb, that is not what I am wishing. In fact, I’m not really wishing anything. I’m just going down Memory Lane and that song seemed to spark something in me.

See, in 2008 (yes, not 2009), my Internet friend from England came and visited me and my family for the first time. The picture at the top of this post is from a day we went to the Manhattan (Kansas) Zoo. I was working at McDonald’s at the time. We went to Wamego (Kansas) to see the Oz Museum. That was the first time I really colored my hair something other than another shade of blonde.

Much of those first few days my friend was in America it stormed REALLY terribly and our cat that had been missing for almost 3 weeks somehow made his way back to our house in one of those storms and managed to stay alive for another 7 years before getting lost outside again and never being seen or heard from again (RIP Benny).

In 2008, my dad was still in the Army, and had yet to be deployed one last time for Operation Enduring Freedom.

In 2008, I really thought I was going to “grow up” in Junction City, Kansas, and live there for the rest of my life. Even being in the Army, I thought that about every place we lived… with the exception of Onalaska, Wisconsin. Though I could have SEEN myself growing up there and living there long-term. But I’m a more southern Midwestern girl. That far north is just a bit too cold for me. Even Spokane, Washington, was better weather somehow and it’s further north, all things considered.

I felt like, in 2008, God had given me a vision for Junction City; one that I wanted to be a part of. And as some people have pointed out whenever I’ve revealed that, it might still be the case and the timing is off. Maybe that’s true. Time will literally tell.

In 2008, I had a guy from work I was interested in and he seemed genuinely interested in me as well. We spent a lot of time together and he got to know my family pretty well. Honestly, he taught me a lot about how to read between the lines of what people are really saying… and maybe more street stuff than I should be knowing, but it has helped me keep alert when things have felt off ever since.

In 2008, I had a flip phone that was in the baby stages of playing music instead of needing an mp3 player separately from my phone and that’s where I listened to B.Reith’s album everyday on my break for like… 8 months straight. I only had a half hour break so I never got to the end of the album, but I listened to the physical CD pretty regularly at home or in my car.

A lot has changed since 2008. B.Reith is (sadly) not really making music anymore and I am regularly and currently on the hunt for a “new” favorite artist… though my mom would take this moment to remind me that I do love me some Phil Wickham… but I would remind her I don’t like ALL of his songs and have a hard time listening to full albums like I could with TobyMac before his music started to get too repetitive. 😛

I no longer have a man interested in me (at least not one I know about, haha). My friend from England is now married with a child and they live in New Zealand. My dad is not in the Army… or even alive.

However, there are some great things going for me. I have a brother who now truly loves the Lord with all his heart, a wonderful sister-in-law and 4 children from their union who call me “Auntie.” My family is the most cohesive it’s ever been. I work for myself, which is not something I ever thought was possible.

I have a great group of friends and two best friends, which Baby Adult Erica’s mind would be blown that not only can she call someone “best friend” but she has TWO of them. (My friend from England was very close to a best friend, but since we were long-distance, it was a different vibe.)

My mom is still pretty amazing, but I mean… if your mom is cool when you’re 18 she’s even more cool when you’re 36. She has been the most helpful with all the dreams I have and I am the most indebted to her, second to Jesus Christ. But it’s like a super close second.

Fun fact #2: My mom basically paid for my oldest nephew and me to go see the Savannah Bananas in Iowa City, Iowa, and have an actual good time this past Friday.

I’ll likely write something about the whole BananaBall experience because it is a WILD story and God is so cool and also… I got to spend 36 uninterrupted hours with my oldest nephew which was the best part.

IN ACTUAL CONCLUSION:

Things are very different than they were in 2008, but who would I be if I never changed or grew or was willing to do what the Lord asked of me?

I probably would be in Junction City being sad that nothing quite worked out like it could have and wondering where I went wrong…

So I don’t “wish that” anything was different. I’m just glad that the Lord is good and that He gave me a good family and great friends.