I finished working at the end of June, and kicked of my three-week funemployment by going to New York with my family for a joint birthday party for my dad and an engagement party for Dan and I. While he wasn't able to attend {he was at a bachelor party in Manhattan that weekend}, it was wonderful to see a large group of family. It was the first time in years that we had gotten so many of us together, so it was great to be surrounded by so much love.
A few days later, we left for our much-anticipated San Francisco trip, and it certainly did not disappoint. While I thought I was looking for a relaxing vacation after a year of non-stop high-stress work, it turned out to be the opposite of relaxing. Oh well! But you know what? It was actually my perfect vacation, because we were really active every day, whether that involved running, hiking, walking EVERYWHERE {and up very major hills} or riding bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge {we did that on the 4th of July, and ended up riding over 20 miles overall, including stopping in charming little Sausalito, where we were part of the old-timey 4th of July parade}. We ate a TON of mouthwatering food - seriously, I don't think we had a good meal - ranging from a salad place near the Air Bnb we were staying in {which was so delicious we went back a second time} to an amazing Greek restaurant whose chef recently catered a White House event. We spent lots of quality time with friends, including my friends Maggie and Jordan, but mostly Dan's friend from high school, Trey, his wife, Ashley, and Trey's brother, Ian, all of whom moved to SF recently but have an enviable knowledge of the city. The three of them spent a ton of time with us, and we were so grateful for them setting up activities for us that were outside of the "touristy" description. It was the perfect getaway, especially for my first time in California!
When we got back from San Francisco, we had four full days left in DC, and we really maxed them out, spending lots of quality time with family and friends, saying goodbye to some of our favorite restaurants and places. The Saturday before we moved, Molly threw us an engagement/going-away party at Poste, which just filled me up with happiness. There was so much love at that party, and almost all of our favorite Washingtonians were there, including both sets of parents. I could not have asked for a better send-off.
On July 14th, we packed everything into the U-Haul and Dan's car and drove away from the city that we have come to love so much. I was hysterical as I said goodbye to my dad and my mom and I drove to Pittsburgh, our first stop on the way to Chicago {luckily, my mom was driving the first leg, which freed me up for some solid crying}. We arrived in Chicago in the middle of the next afternoon, and we are pretty in love with our new place. It is kind of industrial, with exposed ducts and unfinished ceilings, but, even with my love of everything old and clean when it comes to houses, I absolutely love it. The location is fantastic too, allowing us easy access to many parts of the city, especially downtown. I definitely feel like I am still in the adjustment phase. I do love our apartment and I am enjoying exploring the city, but I am certainly not at the point where I love it here or it feels like home. When people mention DC, my heart still skips a beat.
The job has been the biggest blemish of my experience here so far. To make a long story short, there are a ton of personnel issues in the office, which were articulated to me starting on my first day. Needless to say, I have gone home from work in tears on several days. While I don't miss the office politics of my old office, I miss the work, and the students I worked with, terribly. One of my students sent me a really sweet card in the mail thanking me for everything I have done for her, and it honestly made my day, if not my week. The work I'm doing now is just different, and I don't think I've quite adjusted to it yet. I'm hoping that things start to get better soon.
The other thing I have been struggling with is significant FOMO. I was talking to Allie about it the other night over a yummy Indian dinner, asking her if she had felt as though she was sort of "out of sight, out of mind" when she left DC after graduation. As I reflected on our conversation afterward, it struck me that this is very similar to how I felt during study abroad, when I realized that life goes on without me and, as it does, communication with friends fades. I am looking forward to continuing to get together with Allie and Kristin, but they both have busy schedules, so I'm thinking that, until things pick up with the Partners Club through Dan's program, things might be a little lonely around here. That has definitely been my overwhelming emotion since we got here. We grabbed dinner with someone whose wife is in the program and lives in our building, so hopefully, little by little, we'll start making more connections like that one.
Last weekend, I met my family back in my beloved New England {seriously, that place practically makes me weak at the knees!} for a beautiful and moving memorial service for Terry. Although he passed away back in April, they opted to do the memorial service later on, and, while it was certainly emotional, I appreciated the chance to say goodbye and be surrounded by people who loved and cared about him. On Saturday morning, we made the short drive from Maine {where the memorial had been} to the Lake and enjoyed 2 1/2 days of uninterrupted sun and family and friend time. There was definitely a sadness this year, as two members of the "Lake family" are battling cancer, and one is in pretty rough shape at this point. You know what? Cancer sucks. It freaking sucks. I'm tired of people in my life dying from it, especially people in our Lake family. When I got back to Chicago on Monday night, the first thing I saw on the TV monitors when I got off the plane was news of Robin Williams's suicide, which is obviously tragic and incredibly sad. I know there is a lot at play with people who attempt suicide, and I have been fortunate enough to never have experienced feelings like that, but, after having been around so much suffering over the weekend, I was struck by the fact that these friends of ours WANT to live, and they're fighting SO hard. To think that someone just threw it all away makes me really upset, when there are so many people who would do anything to be healthy. Sorry for being depressing. Obviously it was an emotional weekend for me. But, at the end of the day, we all got to spend time together in the most special and beautiful place on the face of the earth, so I was happy.
I'll hopefully post again soon with some summer pictures, but, in the meantime, I'm off to enjoy the weekend with Dan's family, since his parents are in town for a visit. I'm looking forward to having a piece of DC here, even if only for a quick few days!
Last weekend, I met my family back in my beloved New England {seriously, that place practically makes me weak at the knees!} for a beautiful and moving memorial service for Terry. Although he passed away back in April, they opted to do the memorial service later on, and, while it was certainly emotional, I appreciated the chance to say goodbye and be surrounded by people who loved and cared about him. On Saturday morning, we made the short drive from Maine {where the memorial had been} to the Lake and enjoyed 2 1/2 days of uninterrupted sun and family and friend time. There was definitely a sadness this year, as two members of the "Lake family" are battling cancer, and one is in pretty rough shape at this point. You know what? Cancer sucks. It freaking sucks. I'm tired of people in my life dying from it, especially people in our Lake family. When I got back to Chicago on Monday night, the first thing I saw on the TV monitors when I got off the plane was news of Robin Williams's suicide, which is obviously tragic and incredibly sad. I know there is a lot at play with people who attempt suicide, and I have been fortunate enough to never have experienced feelings like that, but, after having been around so much suffering over the weekend, I was struck by the fact that these friends of ours WANT to live, and they're fighting SO hard. To think that someone just threw it all away makes me really upset, when there are so many people who would do anything to be healthy. Sorry for being depressing. Obviously it was an emotional weekend for me. But, at the end of the day, we all got to spend time together in the most special and beautiful place on the face of the earth, so I was happy.
I'll hopefully post again soon with some summer pictures, but, in the meantime, I'm off to enjoy the weekend with Dan's family, since his parents are in town for a visit. I'm looking forward to having a piece of DC here, even if only for a quick few days!
