I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I am still in something of a state of shock. I cannot quite wrap my head around the fact that I'm not on summer break right now. I'm smack dab in the middle of Life. I've been booted out the door of care-free Youth into the blazing sunshine of Adulthood. It's exciting, but also pretty terrifying.
For the moment, however, I'm going to dwell on last week, which I spent in Florida. My amazing roommate Brianna and my other amazing former roommate Ali surprised me for graduation by flying the latter into Chattanooga to see me walk on May 8th. Along with other dear friends and family, we had a great time enjoying my last few days on Lookout Mt. and the surrounding city. Then on that Sunday, Bri, Ali, and I drove to Bri's house in Orlando, where we relaxed and reveled in each other's company, something we hadn't done since a brief evening/morning last fall, and a year again before that. We never dreamed that we would become such close friends the semester that we transferred into college together, and we certainly never knew how hard it would be to say goodbye to Ali when she was unable to return to Covenant after those first fleeting months, but a cord of three strands is not easily broken, and we have maintained a strong and lasting bond.
So on Monday we all simply hung out. Ali and I were outside reading when I decided to try catching one of the many lizards sunning themselves around the back patio. It dropped its tail as soon as I grabbed it, a defense mechanism which many lizards use to distract predators. After showing Ali the still wiggling tail, I went after the rest of the lizard. When I nabbed him, however, he leapt from my grasp and fell at my feet, then suddenly disappeared. Ali and I looked all around, but didn't see him anywhere. Finally, it occurred to us that he might have climbed my leg and gotten into the sundress I was wearing over my swimsuit. After shaking out/checking all my garments, and not seeing a reptile anywhere, we assumed he had just dashed away. All that day, however, I kept feeling something crawling on me. I thought it must all be in my mind at first, especially since the girls just laughed at me when I told them I thought the lizard was still on me somewhere, and then I thought I might be having muscle spasms. Sure enough, though, six hours later I finally grabbed at my side and trapped the squirming critter.
On Tuesday, Ali, Bri, our friend Rachel, and I all went to the beach. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and I loved playing in the surf and feeling the coquinas (also known as periwinkles) beneath my feet digging themselves into the sand every time the surf exposed their tiny pastel-colored shells. Unfortunately, I went from being a pastel color to a lovely vibrant red, because when I tried using spray-on sun screen instead of the rub-in kind, I applied it too thinly and unevenly. You can actually see one spot near my shoulders where the sun screen dripped down and left pasty white drip marks. I almost thought the burning was worth it when it started turning a nice brown, but then the peeling began. For several days I looked like a pie-bald lobster. And I am still peeling.
The other occurrence of that day that I must record with a wry smile and a shake of the head is the personality test that Ali gave us all in the car on the way to and from the ocean. After giving us forty categories from which to choose the best descriptor for ourselves, she calculated our top two personality traits (out of four). My personality was termed Melancholy Choleric, which sounds like a disease. It includes such positive traits as persistent, self-sacrificing, competitive, resourceful, self-reliant, scheduled, outspoken, faithful, cultured, idealistic, decisive, tenacious, loyal, and behaved, and such weaknesses as unsympathetic, resentful, insecure, alienated, withdrawn, tactless, depressed, manipulative, skeptical, and rash. True descriptions, but I wish I scored more in the Sanguine category...ha.
On Wednesday Ali and I went to Disney together since Bri had to work. We wandered around Epcot and later the Magic Kingdom, and had a great day trying to be spontaneous as we explored without Bri's experienced guidance.
On Thursday, we took Ali to the airport so she could fly home. It was sad, because we didn't know when the next time the three of us would be together, but it was also a parting full of hope, because we know that we will be together again.
On Friday, Bri and I relaxed and sunned ourselves. This should be a mandatory daily ritual for all human beings.
On Saturday, Bri, her boyfriend Ben, and I went canoeing at a nearby springs. I paddled in front the whole time, watching for the alligators I am terrified of, and contemplating whether it were better to wear my life jacket, so that there was more padding for big teeth to clamp down around, or keep the bright orange flotation device at my feet, where I could easily grab it and throw it into the water as a distraction for the beasts. In the end, the only gator we saw was a foot-long baby, but we did hear larger ones calling from the water plants near the stream edge.
On Sunday, I went to church with Bri's family, and then we just hung out until my flight that evening. I cried as soon as I was out of sight of my beloved roommate and friend. I don't know if she and I will ever live together again, but I am so thankful to God that we had the time we did. I was so blessed to have such a faithful, close sister in Christ to live with during all my time at college.
i just love you a lot.
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