personal day

with the program, we get three personal days and two life after americorps (laa) days. because I saved all my days until this last deployment (yeah I'm not sure why either) I haven't had a full week of work in the past few weeks, taking a day off per week to take advantage of my allotted days before the program's over. I am enjoying a personal day off today, making myself luxurious big breakfasts (trying to use up the excessive amount of eggs we have...still haven't even made a dent) and buying fudge supplies from big lots across the street while my team is working up at mt weather, deploying reservists and watching as snow flurries fly by their windows. 

some days I am more than ready to be home and in a bed of my own with no reports to write or khakis to wear. other days I am inexplicably content walking the two miles along highway and park paths to old town wearing my collection of goodwill and gabriel brothers' clothing. 

I found out yesterday that I was accepted into nyu's school of social work and will be starting come january. meaning, one: I better get used to this cold weather real fast, and 2: I will only be home for a month and a half after the program ends before I move away. but this time for longer than nine months. there are only 25 more days until I am put on a plane back to southern california and plopped back into the life I lived nine months ago. 

I was talking to my team/room/life mate last night about the way things change and end. it's strange that I lived with these people so closely (and I mean three people to a bed at certain points) for an extended amount of time and experienced things so far out of my comfort zone and gained insight into myself and into others. and we'll all be split and leave each other after the program's graduation in november. and move into new parts of our lives separately. it's all very strange. 

it's especially strange to imagine myself come january in a place to call home for longer than 5-9 weeks at a time. where I'll have my own space and will no longer carry around five ipads and three blackberrys (alright, slight exaggeration...). 

 all I can try to do now is to appreciate every moment I'm fortunate enough to live in. working alongside the warm and welcoming folks in the FEMA deployment branch at mt weather. receiving free meals because the brand new building we work in now (that's still being built as we speak...) is opening a cafeteria on the third floor and the wonderful cooks are trying out new equipment and recipes on us. movie nights via netflix on our little ipad screens after a dinner of steamed veggies and rice. looking up endless no-bake recipes in order to provide ourselves with comfort food after a long day at work as the weather gets colder and colder. trying to convince our coworkers to let us come to work dressed in costumes for halloween. watching as the leaves change from green to orange to yellow to red every single morning on our drive to work. driving along the most beautiful country roads I have ever seen in my life. making new east coast friends who have already impacted my life greatly. being asked "so what is this thing called americorpS" (emphasis on the S). and sitting on my bed on my day off listening to the rustle of leaves outside and feeling the brisk fall air float into our small shared space and being able to be completely still while reflecting on the year I've just had. (now THAT is service learning people: REFLECTING).