Closing in on 200 days!

Tomorrow is a big day. Not only is it the 200 day mark until the wedding, but it's the day that I am officially putting in my two weeks notice at work. It's time for me to focus my energy on work for my MFA, which will consume at least 25 hours a week now that I'm going to start working on pieces for my thesis. I will continue to teach flute lessons and freelance write, and hopefully in the coming months I will find a full time job that will help us pay for a home AND will fulfill my desire to feel validated in my job. It's been a tough year for me job-wise, but I've realized that so very much of our identity is wrapped up in what we do for work, and to have a job that is outside your desired field will leave you feeling empty, especially if you come home at the end of the day stressed, angry, and resentful. I hope that I'll find work that won't make me feel like I wasted my time all day. I want to accomplish things for myself, and that's part of the reason I'm in school. But anyway! Tomorrow is the day. 200 days until I marry my best friend, and the day I put myself on the path to a better career.

In any event, I spent a week at school in Cambridge for residency #3 (I can't believe I only have one left before I graduate!). It was a WONDERFUL week chock-full of seminars, workshops, readings, outings, nightly hot baths, tea, and WRITERS. I love being at school because for a week, I am with like-minded individuals who also have a passion for the written word. We talk about writers we like, trouble we have with writing in general, our plans for the future, and a million other things completely unrelated to writing. We read each other's manuscripts, give our heartfelt feedback, and go home after a week of total immersion to plow through another semester of isolated writing. It's the best program in the world and I wouldn't change being at Lesley University for ANYTHING. Not even for Iowa!

Matt picked me up at the end of my week and we drove up to Loon Mountain in New Hampshire to spend the long weekend with his parents, Andrew, Lisa and (for a night) Katy! It was lovely. We went out for dinner, went skiing, fell down, got back up, felt on top of the world, slid to the bottom of it, and repeated. We played card games, watched an awards show, and laughed so so much. I love my future family so much that I really can't put it into words. I feel like I've been around them my whole life and I'm excited to raise children around such wonderful people. I love my family so much to begin with, that extending it with great in-laws is just the most exciting thing ever. I'm beyond lucky to be gaining a sister in Lisa, two more brothers in Andrew and Tim, and parents in Mary and Anthony. Not to mention the extended family, made up of the most fun people on earth, in my opinion! And to top it off, I get to marry Matt. Saturday (1-16) was our 2 year mark from the day was started talking while he was in Iraq. I believe we spent 7 hours or so on the computer talking to each other that day. The rest is history. In 201 days he'll be my hubby!

Things sort of feel like they're on a good, upward turning point right now for me. My week at school recharged my battery (as it usually does) and now I'm ready to take my life in both of my hands and own it. I'm lucky in so many ways, and I know I'd be nowhere without gratitude.

RIP Danny Mullett