Eeny, meeny, miny, mo

As it turns out, one other part of this transitional time is the upcoming departure of my roommate, who is leaving for the greener pastures of his girlfriend's home. I admit this was quite the stressor for me, as I tried to imagine how on earth I was going to find a new housemate remotely from another state, to which I would not return until 3 weeks before the potential move-in.

I finally got off my duff last weekend and began the search process (nothing like some good procrastination to make everything better!). In addition to dispersing the notice among my friends, I also tried the tactic that worked for me last time I was entering school: using the campus housing office to find possible candidates. One of the delightful advantages of this from last time - besides finding my best roomie ever, who was darn hard to replace when she left - is that having a roommate who's in the same school with me meant that we had instant common ground, and could provide some mutual support and information exchange as we both moved through the program. It was not just helpful; it was great to have a buddy exploring that new territory with me.

The campus housing post was fruitful; I've now spoken with two interested folks. One male, one female; one a law student, the other in the business school; both were good conversations about the house and neighborhood and rooming habits and communication, etc., etc. The twist: both are coming from out of town, and there won't be any chance to meet either of them before I need to make a decision (for my sanity as well as theirs). How do I choose between two folks I've only spoken to via phone and email?

The last time I did a search, for my current roommate, it was a multi-interview process where I felt like I got a pretty good sense of who he was and was able to share my concerns and expectations. I was particularly paranoid and cautious because the woman before him turned out to be so awful, when she had seemed so nice upon meeting her. Excepting college, I've never roomed with someone I didn't at least get to meet face-to-face; while both of the folks seem cool, I still feel very nervous.

I think this is going to be yet another of those trust-in-the-Lord for guidance situations, because I don't have any way to do all the things that would make me feel "secure" in this decision (even if that security is an illusion). I'm having a lot of those this summer; but the good part of that is that I keep re-learning that when I leave things in His hands, they do get taken care of, quite well. I'm going to give this some meditation, and pray for clear hearing ... I'd appreciate your prayers as well, plus any practical tips for out-of-town roommate assessment!

Time for the good stuff

Well, I'm 2-1/2 weeks into my 6-week Virginia vacation, and the most descriptive term for it is: awesome! Other excellent terms: fun; relaxing; sun-filled; sneezy. (Yeah, that last one is a little weird, but my right nostril is having an allergy fit. Yes, just one nostril.)

My nephew and I haven't quite had a specific schedule, but we've been good about getting out of the house - to the pool; on a very interesting suburban public transit excursion; on errands. He'll also go out and play at a friend's house or at the park, so even if I have to be inside taking care of some business, he's still out and about. We have a limit of about 30-60 minutes of Xbox a day; we're working on cutting down the TV time. (It's tough; we both love TV! Although I think I've had enough cartoons ... at least I'd rather watch the live action teeny-bop shows, if I have to choose among the kid offerings.) Often, when we're in, we do play board games, which are a family favorite pastime; he's beaten me at Payday more times than I like to admit.

I've been shopping, cooking dinner, doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, minding the young'uns. It's encouraging, in that I actually don't mind some of the activities that could be a part of housewife-hood and parenthood ... well, the parenting of a well-behaved, fairly independent 10-year-old. (They pop out like that, right?) I even manage to get in occasional periods of personal productivity, like taking care of bills or roommate searching or school-related stuff, or working on the little research project I have going this summer, or working out, or planning wedding things for my sister. I need to work a little more on my discipline in getting up and getting dressed at a reasonable hour (= before 11AM or noon), but overall, I feel like I'm not exceptionally, embarassingly lazy.

The best part of all this is just being here, being chilled out, and getting to make time for all of this. I feel very un-stressed, which is such a lovely change from where I was, and I continue to feel happy and contented. Finances are tight, but not worrisome, and at least I'm earning my room and board by being a useful household and child caretaker. Getting to spend this amount of time with my nephew rocks, because even at close range and constant company, he remains the best boy ever: sweet-natured, funny, loving, smart, goofy, adorable. I don't get to spend as much time with my sister because she does have to do this crazy thing called work; but when she is here, we hang out and have fun. It's great to watch the two of them together, because they so completely love each other. My sister is a great mom, and I am so proud of her for that.

I know I'll have to get ready for more work and less play as September approaches. But I also hope I can take some of this peace back with me, and remember to make time for the best part of my life, which is spending it with people I love. There's nothing like just being able to bewith your friends and family at home; not even necessarily doing anything, but just being together. Good times, yo.