Treading Water

I began the week feeling like I was at the top of a roller coaster, right at the edge before gravity kicks in. That feeling lasted through Wednesday. I was in one-day-at-a-time mode, just getting through the next thing on the list. Finally on Thursday I managed to start thinking a little beyond the next 24 hours. Friday was almost easy; I was done early, did my laundry, and tackled some more unpacking (which I’d been doing piecemeal throughout the week after my possessions arrived in town on Monday). On Saturday, I was ready for a break. And ready to not have an apartment full of boxes. So I spent the preponderance of the day reading (a novel, not my homework) and getting through all my organizing except for two smallish piles and seven boxes of books.

Then I looked at my schedule for the next week. It turns out I should have started my homework a little earlier (I did do a few hours’ worth on Saturday night). I went from feeling like I was approaching the tail end of a roller coaster to feeling like I was treading water. Not drowning, but working to keep my chin above the water and staring at a huge, approaching wave. And I’m not sure what kind of shape I’ll be in when the wave gets to me. Or what the weather will be like on the other side.

That said, I’m looking forward to the year. The small taste I’ve gotten in this first week has been intriguing and refreshing. And there are some very good people around me. At school, apparently everyone is ready to answer any questions that may occur to the 1Ls. At home, I’ve been blessed with some timely and unexpected help (in the form of a kind neighbor who helped move things into my apartment and his wife who brought over a fresh apple cobbler) and encouragement (in the form of a handful of notes my sister hid throughout the apartment before I dropped her off at the airport). I’ve been well taken care of.

The other good news is that I managed to find my way to school and back several times without taking a wrong turn and without using my GPS. That’s encouraging for someone with almost no sense of direction. Next project: learn my way to the grocery store…

Shrink-Wrapped Cheerios

It has been a long week, but a good one. Long because every day has felt like two: one part driving and one part being on vacation. Long because it’s the start of a completely new phase of life and new things seem to take more time than things I’m accustomed to. And long because I’m counting the Friday we left, so it’s really 10 days rather than a week.

It’s been good for many, many reasons.

I won’t go through the litany of things we saw and places we stopped on the way to Williamsburg. Suffice it to say we’ve seen nearly 3,000 more miles of the good old USA and checked three more states off of my list (I’ve now been on the ground in 41 states!). Thanks to some generous souls and a terrific support team, we had a smooth, virtually problem-free journey highlighted by an excellent sendoff and a couple of good visits on the way.

So now I’m in Williamsburg and I’ve started unpacking. One of the items I pulled out was a Ziplock bag of Cheerios. Filled in Salt Lake and nestled into a square portion of my box of food, it came out in the sea level air pressure looking shrink-wrapped. It stayed in its box shape until I opened the bag to eat some cereal this morning.

In some ways I feel like that shrink-wrapped bag of Cheerios. Before, I felt free and easy. I had room to move and I knew what I was able to do. I felt prepared and confident. Now I feel a little sucked in and tight, like there’s pressure all around me and I don’t have much flexibility. And I’m not sure what shape I’ll be in when the bag opens and I’m exposed to a whole collection of new experiences.

But I do know things will work out. For whatever reason, I know I’m supposed to be here doing what I’m doing. And I know there’s a path prepared for me to follow.

And if a few cheerios get spilled along the way, no worries. Life goes on and I intend to go on with it.