take it on the run
all in all, my time at this job has been a positive learning & growth experience. although i'm leaving direct counseling practice (as mentioned before), i'd like to keep my national board certification as a counselor current. at least for now. yesterday, my co-workers took me out for a farewell lunch at my favorite thai restaurant (the lime leaf), and gave me a going-away present. one chapter ends as another begins. i'll be moving (again, and finally) in just two short weeks. in three weeks, school starts. this marks the beginning of a long journey which will hopefully culminate in the title "Dr." placed in front of my name (yikes!). between now and then, there's a zillion things to do.
lately, everything is happening so fast that i haven't had time to process all of it. it's been a pretty emotional time for me. that's at least partly because, as i finish work tomorrow, my dad officially retires from 36 years of university teaching on 7-31-06. last weekend when i was at my parents' house, i helped him clean and move out of his office. wow, i just don't know what to say. it's like, on one level, all of these changes haven't sunk in yet. at the same time, all of this--especially dad's retirement--is making me feel super nostalgic for my childhood, and for the good old days spent growing up as a "faculty kid" in a college town. i practically grew up on campus! maybe the fact that i'm compiling old photos and memorabilia for a retirement scrapbook is what's driving the nostalgia.
flashback to 1983. i was nine years old and listened to REO Speedwagon. Flashdance was a box office hit. i wore legwarmers. and you would have often found me visiting my dad at his office, feeling sassy and important as i spun around in his office swivel chair, while he graded papers. add in the occasional smirk as i watched my dad scribble a red-ink bad grade onto a student's exam paper. ha! ;-)
23 years later, my dad's retiring, i'm on the cusp of big changes, i hear that 80's fashions are on their way back in (NOooooo!), and REO Speedwagon is working on a new cd.