The plan all summer was to depart Colorado after work and drive through the night with Heather and Jacob. After leading up to that day for weeks, our anxious hearts finally met Saturday, August 16th. There were a lot of strange emotions I was experiencing. I was going to go to work and try to enjoy the last day and avoid thinking about leaving certain people and the mountains. Unfortunately, on Saturday morning I woke up to a few calls from Heather. Heather had found out that her aunt was in the ICU, and learning this, Heather wanted to leave immediately and begin the 14-hour trek back to Missouri. Thankfully, our supervisor was understanding and instead of completing our final shift at the Y, we began saying our goodbyes at lunch. I have to laugh whenever I think about my friend asking me if I usually cry when I say goodbye and me responding with no; I had tears in my eyes after the first hug. After we said all the "see you soon"s and breathed in our last Colorado air for awhile, we squeezed in (all the cool souvenirs you buy during a summer become a lot less cool when they take up more room in the car than yourself).
We arrived in Festus around 5:30AM Sunday. My mom met me outside, helped me haul my belongings inside, and I headed straight for my bed. I remember laying in my big, comfy bed that wasn't a bunk bed and that didn't require a ladder for me to get into it, with one dog at each side of mine, and thinking, "I have no troubles in this life." Yeah, it was that magical.
When I woke up, I began unpacking from Colorado and packing for moving into my apartment. Luckily for me, I got a packing break that night to visit with my family. Confession: I really missed my brother! And then, on Tuesday morning, I left Festus to transition back into college life, this time a little different than last. A few things were still the same: moving a bunch of excess crap of mine that is questionable as to why I even own, my mom's birthday (poor mom) and it. was. stinkin. hot. Good ole Misery. Oops, Missouri. And because there had to be some spark of adventure to moving into my first apartment and feeling like an adult, it was that my apartment was on the third floor of one of the oldest buildings in Columbia. No elevator. And so this was us:
Nah, I'm just kidding. Praise the Lord that it was already furnished, so all it took was six of us ladies, a few hairbands and our muscles. Boom.
Now, I am very much a get-er-done type of person. An idea enters my mind and if I don't complete the task right then, I go slightly insane. So when I arrived at the apartment, I saw it as one giant project that needed completed, rather than the multiple little projects that it actually was. Oh, I need lights above my bed. Oh, that picture needs hung there. Oh, that floor needs mopped. Oh, we need groceries. One other thing that was different coming into this year than last: I'm a sophomore. Which meant that I was no longer a freshman. So despite my determination, I would have to wait. There were friends that needed welcomed that I hadn't met yet, and visiting to be done with the friends that I had. Committing my time elsewhere was challenging for me because I wanted to finish everything first. Excessive planning can be a huge flaw of mine. But let me tell you a quick story. Last night, I was interrupted during hammering some nails in the wall by Heather's laughter. It was the kind of laugh that is contagious and makes you think, I want to laugh too. It drew in Melissa as well and we both joined Heather on the couch. We then watched as a girl online had posted a video, post wisdom teeth surgery. If you ever want to be reminded of life's simplest joys, go on YouTube and search "wisdom teeth aftermath". Anyway, it was the hardest I had laughed in a while.
Through these past few days, things have been anything but still. But those rare moments have been the most memorable. Whether it was laughter on the couch, enjoying iced coffee with a new friend or watching Friends by myself, I'm learning to appreciate the moments of quietness more and value the sound of these keys being pressed rather than the sound of nails being forced into the walls. And more importantly, you can't plan those rare occasions that put many things into perspective. I won't forget hugging people wearing my housekeeping shirt in the dining hall. I won't forget laying in bed with both my dogs and enjoying every second of having dog hair on me. I won't forget sweating and climbing the three flights of stairs with all of my CO souvenirs in boxes. I won't forget sitting on the couch with my roommates, rewinding the same part twenty times.
And finally, I can't help but think, it will be one interesting day when I move into my first house.
No comments:
Post a Comment