Goodbyes & Fresh Beginnings

Go figure. I moved out yesterday and already I'm back home. Just for the day though... dentist appointment before the semester started. No cavities, mom! =)

It's been an eventful day. First I woke up really confused, forgetting where I was. Then I remembered, but realized I was really cold because I left my window open all night and apparently it was quite the chilly night! Anyway, went to Monroe for my dentist appointment, unpacked some bins & such that I brought back home, and then reloaded the car. Who would have thought that there would be an entire carful of stuff left to bring back! I loaded up my bike, two bins that fit under my bed, a bunch of board games (for our weekly game night!), a few care packages from my grandparents for my brother & I, and my turtle.

About that turtle.

His name is Usasem (although if you ask my neighbor's niece, the turtle's name is "Sassy" and it's a girl). Usasem, the real name, stands for United Soccer Association of South Eastern Michigan. (He was my team's mascot). He's been through a lot. He was adopted from a parking lot or something of the sort by my biology teacher in high school. She forgot about him and left him in a box for an entire summer. She found him, and thinking he was dead, asked me to go dispose of him and his brother. His brother was rotted out of his shell, but this little guy wasn't. So I checked and sure enough, he was breathing. So I adopted him! My freshman year roommate dropped him a few times, my friend Sarah threw him across the room on accident, and he's fallen off a table or two. But he's still alive!

Today just added to his miseries. I left him in the car. I completely forget that I'd packed him up... and I went to lunch with my mom for an hour, visited my Morality teacher (who I'm skydiving with!) & my soccer coach for two hours at school, went to my grandparents' for an hour... I hope that turtle lives to see his new home in Ann Arbor!!!

Anyway, I'm at home in Monroe typing this up because my apartment doesn't have internet this week. Hopefully we'll get that set up soon! In the meantime, I'll be playing in my first soccer game of the season, babysitting some of the cutest kids ever, skydiving, and organizing the apartment - such joyous events!

Life is good. =)

#28: Go skydiving.

It's official. On Saturday September 5th, I am going skydiving. Not just any old skydiving trip though. I am going skydiving with my 72 year old Morality teacher.

That's right. My 72 year old Morality teacher.

He is my hero. In high school, he taught me extremely valuable lessons regarding Social Justice & Morality. He truly cared about my well being, and even had a "talk" with another teacher due to the way she was treating me (and I just found out about that today!). He's always there to listen if I need to talk, and he takes an interest in EVERYONE'S lives -- really, everyone... he made friends with the most random people on the Guatemala trip. I wish I was as genuinely interested in every person's life as he is. He climbed the biggest temples & pyramids in Tikal... and did EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. He's the most humble man I've met, and the most gentle. And now he is jumping out of a plane with myself & 3 girls I played soccer with. I couldn't be more excited about it.

I'm a bit nervous but mostly just ecstatic. I can't believe I'm actually going to jump out of a plane. I've wanted to do it all summer but didn't think I actually would. I'm missing a Michigan game for it and I could care less.

Pray for us!!

In other news, I packed for school today. Filled up a UHaul, my car, my dad's truck, AND I have to come get more on Wednesday. (In all fairness, my dad's truck bed and backseat were MOSTLY filled with my brother's stuff). We'll see how move-in goes!!!