. celebrate . `@ 1:55 PM
Sunday, July 31, 2005
These are my random thoughts on my life here in Indianapolis.
Every morning, I wake up to my cell phone ringing. I give Nate the indepth details of the dreams that I had last night. I gather my things and run to the bathroom. Mornings in the crazy house are very strictly blocked so that everyone has enough bathroom time. Suz and I use every last second. I usually leave something behind and have to disrupt someone else's bathroom time to gather my lost belonging.
After much struggling with the wardrobe and Forum dress code, I pull an outfit together. At least one item belongs to Suzanne. She is an extremely generous roommate. I throw everything that I am going to need for the rest of the day into the beautiful black purse that Nate gave me for my birthday and make sure to bring a change of clothes in case I don't come straight home from work. I give kisses to Max and Olivia and Daniel if I can find him. I run down the stairs whether I am late or not.
My little SUV is always waiting right where I parked it the night before. In between phone calls home, I listen to the music of the day: maybe "A Knight's Tale" soundtrack if I still need to be woken up, country if I'm a little homesick, Bob and Tom if I am feeling risque. I drive too fast and always tell myself that tomorrow I will leave extra early and drive closer to the speed limit. I never do.
The girls at work call out when I enter. The fact that there aren't cat fights is astounding, considering we work in an all female environment. There are brownies or cakes or cookies or something else I shouldn't eat on the table in the breakroom, usually provided by Lucy or Wanda. I go through my work day, handing out suckers, doing transactions, hunting down managers for approvals, making referrals, getting paid. I smile. Jewel gives me hugs. I try to beat my record for the day before, but when my feet get tired, I end up having to sit. The cash dispenser breaks sometimes, and I get a little irritated at the number of vault transactions I am therefore required to do. I would much rather open than close.
On my lunch break, I wander around Greenwood or go up to Kentucky Avenue to hug a certain someone or read a book by Dan Brown in the break room. When I return to my desk, there will be an e-mail from Suzanne that requires answering. When it is slow, I encode checks or run people's private documents to the shredder. The Denny's across the drive through lane provides quality entertainment.
After I get off work, I climb into my car. The black paint soaks up the sun and makes it a sauna. I head north, always, but my route varies. I may take Meridian up to IUPUI to meet up with Nate after his calculus class, or stop and go along 31 towards Avon for a night of home cooking, movies, and long conversations, or take County Line to 465 towards my Indiana home. No matter where I go, the music is turned up, I am probably laughing, and the tension of working in a financial center begins to release from my back. If I'm lucky, Nate will help the tension leave by popping my back later, or I'll get to spend the evening on the Boltz family's incredibly comfortable couch watching "Hell's Kitchen".
Dinner could be a multitude of things. It could Nate spoiling me with another meal out. It could be meeting the Sowders somewhere. It could be cooking at my Indiana home. It could be not eating at all. It could be a Luna bar. It could be taking cooking lessons from Rendy. It could be Don Pablo's with all the members of the crazy house, plus Suzanne's grandparents and older brother Jonathan. Anticipating dinner is usually the best part of my day - until I get to eat it. The company is always fantastic.
I do laundry sometimes. I shop more than I should. I've seen a million movies and parts of millions more. I get so many hugs that I know I am both psychologically developing off the charts, and Cameron keeps me from "shriveling" - his own personal term for what happens to someone when they don't get enough hugs. I am surrounded by so many people who I love and who love me in return, and I'm miles away from my true home. God has blessed me abundantly.
We've gone to Monument Circle too many times to count, the zoo, every mall at least once, and French Lick. We've stayed up late on several couches talking. We saw four fireworks shows, and floated in the lake at Fairhope, receiving burnt knees and shoulders in return. One time my boyfriend pushed me in and I lost the net we were going to use to catch fish. It took us an hour to find it on the muddy bottom.
I now own my own car, Country Apple hand sanitizer and an orange star with Forum at the top and Suzanne's handwriting underneath. I have a bedroom at Suzanne's with two drawers and half a closet, and a bedroom at Nate's with two dressers and no closet. I can return any time I choose, and both will be waiting for me with fresh sheets and the smell of "home". I have managed to talk to everyone at school almost once a week, and missed Dayna incredibly. I am going home at the end of this week in a blaze of glory. I have had a wonderful summer. My faith has grown in leaps and bounds. Everyone I have lived with this summer has left their mark on my life.
- Cameron climbs up next to me on the couch and hugs me, teaching me that patience is rewarded and children still know how to love more purely than anyone else.
- Rendy is an example of a strong woman who holds her own in a male dominated house, blessing everyone who comes in with good food and me with strong "mom" hugs.
- Tim shows true generosity in everything. From feeding me to taking me to church to buying us Starbucks, he never turns down a request that is in his power to grant.
- David makes me laugh. His personality is starting to come out so strongly at sixteen. He takes me on tours of their area, and showed me the prime Starbucks locations.
- Mr. Boltz makes me feel wanted. No matter what has happened during the day, he is always excited to see me when I come home, and wants to know about work and my life in general. Plus, he makes amazing drinks.
- Mrs. Boltz is the ultimate mom. She gives good hugs and shows me the benefits of noticing the details. I have become even more of a "detail" person since living with her. She notices the beautiful.
- Jon is.. Jon. He said it best on Saturday night. "When you have friendships as cool as we do, you feel sorry for everyone else."
- Nate. I could write hundreds of things about the last few people on my list. We have cried and laughed and prayed more this summer than I would have ever imagined. He has shown me over and over what a great person he is. Missing him at the beginning of the summer made me realize even more what I have in my life. I love learning from him and following his leadership. I have fallen more in love with him, and look forward to the memories we still have to make.
- Suzanne. The shopping trips for engagement rings. The late nights when I say random things right before we fall asleep. Sunbathing at Fairhope. Target runs. Praying at night so I don't have bad dreams. Over and over again, I thank God for her. She's a blessing that I wish everyone could have.. but then I'd have to share her. And her second senior year will be even better than her last.. especially since she won't have to take classes.
God has demonstrated his love for me mulitple times. I can't contain the grace and goodness that He has shown me over the last three months. I am closer to Him now than ever before, and I know that it won't fade. Our Lord is so good, isn't He?
So now I am preparing to go to my true home before I return to Ohio for my senior year. It's bittersweet. I wish the summer could drag on forever - more walks around the block, more cuddling with Max, more trips for ice cream, more time to cuddle and love and sing "Three's Company" - but I know that it would lose its sweetness in a way. Summer is meant to be enjoyed with eyes and hearts wide open, and at the end, our hearts are full. I'll let go, because I know I will be back. And autumn has so much promise.
. celebrate . `@ 8:44 AM