I love my parents so much. They're so kind and funny, and most importantly, we understand each other when we're together in a way that is hard to find outside of my family. First, we're all independent New Englanders. That means that we often either appear shy or arrogant, but it's only because the midwestern hyper-friendliness doesn't feel natural to us. Secondly, we usually do things ourselves instead of waiting for others to join us...it's not because we're shy though, it's just because we don't "need" people around to be happy. We want to make good friends, but we don't necessarily need them, so it's trickier. And, as New Englanders, we also hate mindless chit-chat. (I'm not a cranky old woman, honestly, it's just a state of mind!) We always end up having philosophical discussions about religion or politics. And I love how compassionate and dedicated they are: they're going to plan a mission trip together, since a doctor and a chemist are always needed; and my dad's going to organize a yearly family reunion for just the four of us, since John and I are both out of the house now.

Yesterday I was so confident when I said goodbye to them. I'm a graduate student, after all, and I have my own beautiful apartment and semi-loyal fish. But this day, the first of the fall semester, was so stressful and exhausting and...I miss my parents! I spent two hours this morning waiting in line to get my loan approved (so I can actually enroll in the classes I started today), but my number wasn't called before class, so I had to give up my space. Grr...I'm going to have to do that again all tomorrow morning. Anyway, then I went to class, which is with all the same girls (and one guy), but it was kind of annoying because everyone is so chatty all the time! I'm sorry to be such a downer, but I don't always enjoy the false "Oh my gosh, how were your past two weeks??!!! What didya do?" Everyone in my class is nice, but I grew up in the frigid mountains of New Hampshire where we just don't do that- unless you make sure the person has had their coffee. Then I went to buy my textbooks. Cha-ching! I carried all 50 pounds of them back to my car and then drove to the grocery store. When I have days like this, I should honestly stay out of all stores, since I'm in an altered state of contientiousness and spend wildly. I also eat really bad food. Like friend chicken and pringles for dinner.

I will be fine, though...it's just post-first-day jitters. My schedule is crazy too. When I first saw it, 1:25-4:25 four days a week, I thought it sounded like a breeze and maybe I could work a little. I realized today though, that those are only inclass hours; I also have about four hours of student teaching every day, probably in a distant suburb.