Summer's End

I’ve become a surprisingly quick convert to running with a GPS watch. After only a day or two, I was hooked. GPS is much handier than my old estimate-the-distance-based-on-how-long-I’ve-been-running method. And it’s very useful on the winding, not-easy-to-judge-distance-and-direction roads of Williamsburg.

The highlight of the last two weeks was a visit from my mom and sisters. We spent a long weekend sightseeing, eating well, and enjoying each other’s company. Sometimes it felt a little like a housewarming party for me, as if I had just moved in and was just starting school. (That’s probably an unavoidable feeling when your mom is taking a picture of you in front of the big school sign.) Other times it felt like I was on vacation along with everyone else. (It was strange to watch my family drive away to the airport and not go with them.) I think we all enjoyed answering the “Where are you from?” question: “Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Williamsburg (sort of).”

It was a treat to spend some time together and a delightful end to the summer. I’m grateful they all had some time to visit.

After they left, reality came rushing back. I realized the new semester was less than a week away. I had known that, of course, but suddenly I was feeling it. The new 1L class was already roaming the halls of the law school and starting classes, while I hadn’t even looked at my schedule, bought my books, or read my first day assignments. (Not that starting homework was high on my priority list; I managed to put that off until 10 pm on Saturday night...)

I was feeling a lot of stress.

But over the next few days I updated my calendar, reviewed my classes, found (and bought) all my books, and started feeling better.

And overall, I feel so much better than I did a couple of weeks ago when I was trying not to think about school at all. At the beginning of this month, my feelings about the upcoming year were a step above dread. I just did not want to face another year like the last one.

Perhaps that’s why I’m feeling more at peace with starting my 2L year: this year doesn’t feel like the last one. This year I know what’s going on. I understand better which parts of my schoolwork are important. I know my way around. I have a better idea of how to balance school with other parts of life. Most of all, I feel as if I, myself, am different.

So bring it on, 2L year.

Touring W&M Campus

They take their history lessons seriously on this campus.

Monticello is much greener at this time of year than in April.

The gardens at Monticello are big and varied.

And lovely.

My pal, Thomas Jefferson

In the garden of the Governor's Palace.

My sisters and I in the Governor's Palace gardens.

The colonial Capital.

Colonial cooking lessons. This recipe called for
one hour of whisking.

In the public gaol.

Nice place for a meeting, huh?

The George Wythe house.

Cinder Toffee = Yum

Duck and cover!

The Marquis de Lafayette about to rally the colonial militia.

At the Jamestown Fort.

The Yorktown Monument.

Redoubt 9 at the Yorktown Battlefield.

A generously measured "12 inch" pizza.

A bridge over the York River - we got a good look at this
bridge during an evening walk out on the dock.

A turtle we saw on our Sunday walk around the neighborhood.

Great visitors - I love you! 

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A thank you gift from the Alumni Office where I was
working during the last two months. They told me to
enjoy the treats. I told them that wouldn't be a problem.

A thank you gift for house-sitting while some friends were
in Europe. When my friend learned my grandpa is from Delft,
she brought back some authentic Delft blue porcelain for me.
What a treasure!