Ohhhhh New England

It's winter in New England
And the gentle breezes blow,
Seventy miles an hour,
At fifty-two below.
Oh, how I love New England
When the snow's up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter air
And your nose, it freezes shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful,
So I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave New England
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

Well this cute and yet not-so-far-fetched poem in Renee's profile reminded me that I probably should update my blog. I came home for Easter break a week ago and had a really nice drive back. I-80 makes me queasy at the thought of it by now, I've driven it so much, so I decided to drive through upstate NY via I-90 the whole way home (kind of up your way, I think, Matthew). I took the usual suspects back to good old New England with me. Steve simply occupied luggage space by passing out in my back seat the ride home, but Brian, as usual, made sure I stayed awake with conversations about atonement, the Red Sox, and how to talk to a girl's dad. All in all it was a good trip.

I've spent most of the week dividing my time between homework (which I am seriously behind in, despite my efforts), various appointments and errands, and spending time with my family, friends, and Jay. It has been SO good to be home! Honestly, nothing will make you appreciate being able to spend time with that special someone like having to do the whole "long distance thing" for weeks/months at a time! I don't recommend voluntarily doing it, but I'll tell you, it'll definitely give you a whole new appreciation for the relationship if you do have to go through it.

I've been sifting through a lot of emotions lately as I start to make the transition out of college. I guess I won't say too much about it because A) I don't want to get all emo on this post and B) I'm not quite sure how I feel. Mostly I just kind of flip-flop back and forth like one of those gyroscope toys in the hands of a hyper four-year-old. One moment (day, week, etc.) I'm really excited to graduate, start teaching, stop the whole "living in two different states/worlds" lifestyle, and have some stability/continuity in my life. But at other times I get depressed because an awesome time in my life is about to end. I'm not so much sad to leave school (despite my unusual love of learning) as I am to leave the dorm lifestyle and all the amazing friends I've made. In another couple months we'll be spread out over the country. The comfort in all of this is that although my life and feelings are crazy right now, God is constant and will carry me through this. I don't know what I'd do without Him!

Seeing stars...

"Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Colossians 3:1-4

One thing you can guarantee about Grove City's weather is that it will be windy. Because of this, and given my clumsy tendencies, you will typically find me moving around campus in the hands-in-my-pockets, head bent down to shelter my face from windburn, eyes on the sidewalk so I don't trip, quick-paced walking posture.

Tonight's weather was no different. But since I didn't have to take a load of cumbersome books and a forest's worth of handouts in my bag, I decided to add a scarf for extra protection against the wind as I walked to IV. Mind you, I was still wary against my tripping nature and the scarf my Nana made for me goes well below my knees, so that by the time I wrapped it up enough to ensure I wouldn't stumble, my neck was propped quite upright.

As I walked across the barren tundra of the quad (don't panic, I was on the sidewalk, not the grass!), I tried to resume my usual habit of sidewalk staring. To my surprise, I found that the bulk of the scarf was acting almost as a brace and kept me from moving my chin that low. Wondering how immobile I really was, I tried the opposite direction. And that's when I saw them. I was in the very center of the quad and somewhat distanced from the lights of the buildings and lamp posts. As I arched my neck upward, my eyes captured the glimmer of stars peeking out through the crisp air of newborn darkness. "Wow," I thought, "what an absolutely gorgeous night! And to think, if this scarf hadn't gotten in my way I never would have noticed them." No sooner had that thought ended in my mind when God decided to add His own thoughts:

Isn't it interesting how focused you get on looking at the ground? It's so easy to get caught up in the things directly in front of you: the imperfections (cracks) in the road, the things that might trip you up, or the direction you need to take. But when you open your eyes and trust My sense of balance, look at the blessings I can show you. I'm holding the stars up; trust that I will hold you up as well.

It was a good reminder.

A picture is worth...

If I haven't shown this to you already, go check out my sister's photography blog. She's simply amazing.

Save Toby?

Wow, some people will do just about anything for money, including pulling the heartstrings, angry reactions, and wallets of vegetarians and bunny lovers around the world. The sad thing is this guy has already made a lot of money off of his rabbit randsom. Who knew...

14 Miles Short

They say love will make you do crazy things, and I tend to agree. There aren't many other reasons I would drive 1200 miles in four days if I didn't have to.

This past weekend was our "spring break." After four years I still haven't figured out why Grove City College won't celebrate national holidays, but they give us a random four day weekend every semester. In any case, my senioritis is in full swing and Jay and I hadn't seen each other since the semester started six weeks ago. (A hint for you GCC couples who whine about being apart for four day breaks: don't come looking to me for sympathy). In any case, I skipped my one Wednesday class and spent the weekend in glorious New England.

The more time I spend at Fitchburg State College, the more I realize we really are in an alternate universe here at GCC. Wednesday night Jay and I went to the library so he could study for a big test he had the next day. Not only did we bring juice into the library, but we also talked...at a normal volume! It was strange not to be getting death glares for clearing my throat or pulling out a chair. While Jay was in class/work his friends were nice enough to play "adopt the girlfriend" and make sure they took me to lunch or let me know when they were hanging out. It was so nice to hang out in a dorm with other college students and not worry about going to classes or doing homework! Friday night we all had a little "bonding time" by reminiscing about the "good old days" of the 80s. We listened to cartoon and TV show theme songs off a website Betsy found on the internet. Despite the fact that he was still in school, Jay and I were able to spend a lot of time together and it was definitely a great, relaxing weekend!

On Saturday I decided to surprise my family (my parents didn't know I had come up). I called home as I pulled in the driveway. Although my mom was out running errands, Dad answered the phone. Of course he had to pause our conversation a minute later when "somebody was ringing the doorbell." It was great seeing his face when he realized it was me. Mom came home a little bit later to find my car sitting in the driveway. I love surprising people! We got to spend the day together and Mom and I even followed each other on the drive back south on Sunday since she was heading down to VA.

So all in all I had a wicked awesome weekend. I got to drink water from a bubblah and hear about the pahking restrictions at the T stop for Bahst'n, which apparently are wicked stupid.

And when I finally pulled into Sibera, my odometer said 99,986...