The experiences and exploits of a college grad trying to make it in the "real world:" leaving school and friends in New England, moving south, and living with her boyfriend. Watch as I pretend to be an adult.
We've finally gotten to my favorite time of year. Spring is rolling us briskly into Summer- the weather is clearing up, animals are out and about, flowers and trees are blooming and budding. In short, that whole "cycle of rebirth" is transforming a formerly bleak and subdued landscape into a bright tapestry full of color and energy. You can see the changes everywhere. Our dogs have gotten a serious case of spring fever and spend the days running around like little idiots, reluctant to come in even for meals. I go to sleep to the croaking of bullfrogs and wake up to the chirping of birds. Crickets and tree frogs will join the cacophany in a couple weeks, around the same time lightening bugs (called June bugs here- even though they come out in May) will turn the night into a twinkling light show. Even us humans reflect the change. Bright tank tops and capris replace our duller winter wardrobe as we compete with nature's color explosion. Skin takes on a darker hue (well, not mine, but other peopls), toasted by the sun. People seem to smile more. I love Spring! In another change, my parents have decided to move. Not immediately, and only about 4 hours down the road, but never-the-less, this has thrown my little sisters into a tizzy. To be honest, I am having a hard time understanding why they're getting so upset. Katie is already away at school and Caroline will be by the time Dad and Chris actually pack up and leave the area. I don't really understand what difference a change in location makes at this point- especially since Dad and Chris are staying in Virginia. My sisters seem to think that they'll loose their local friends with no "home base" in the area. Perhaps I'm just at a different stage in my life. While I have friends in the area, I'm much more used to thinking of my friends as more geographically dispersed. After all, I went 8 hours away to school. After graduation my friends spread out over Mass while I went back to Va and my boyfriend was four hours further south in Raleigh. Next year we will move on even more- two of my best friends will be leaving Mass completely, one to go to gradschool in Co or Ca, and one to go to medschool in Pa. I suppose with cell phones, email, and IM the concept of distance just doesn't seem that intimidating. My group of girlfriends, the three that visited me a few weeks ago, have a running emial-a-thon a few days a week. Generally someone will send out a mass email first thing in the morning. We reply to it as we get a chance through the day, generating almost a conversation that, while isn't nearly as fun as the real thing, keeps us up to date on each others daily lives, and entertained during the long work day. Most of these people I'll see a few times a year, and, well- you make new friends. This doesn't diminish old friendships in any way, it's how things work. I think my sisters' reactions have more to do with change. A fear of the unknown. I barely remember our old house in Maryland, the one from when I was a baby. Katie my have a few stray memories, but not many. She and Caroline have spent almost their entire lives in Clifton. With the exception of college for Katie, and a year of boarding school for Caroline, they've never really left. They've certainly never broken the bonds and left "completely," made that psychological leap necessary to really move on. Add to that the events of the past few years, and well, perhaps they're just a bit spooked by the whole "change" thing. Too much too fast, maybe. I hope that, given time to absord the news and digest it a bit my sisters will realize that this particular change is both neccesary and good. That it doesn't just mean the end of the life they've grown comfortable with, but also the beginning of a new one- for them and for my parents too. For Katie and Caroline it's time to branch out, and make homes for themselves. To be adventurous and try new things. For my parents it's time to slow down and enjoy life outside the hustle and bustle of DC. Even to spend a little time together without the stress of raising kids- Caroline will have made the sixth, counting the steps. It may be something different, but it's not the end of the world.
What I'm listening to: Shakira, Te Espero Sentada
After 22 posted at 12:34 PM
