Saying Goodbye II

I board a plane headed home -- by way of Amsterdam and Nashville -- in ten hours. My co-workers have asked me no fewer than twenty times in the last week if I'm "ready" to go. I still don't have a good answer.

This summer has been good for me in many ways. I had time to be on my own, to remember that I'm ok by myself. At the same time, I found incredible friends in the people I worked with. Perhaps most important, I was able to relax. It has been years since I experienced so little stress. Not much was expected of me at work, I came home without papers to write, I had no appointments to keep. My afternoons and evenings were spent swimming, reading fiction, cooking and drinking beer on my porch. I needed this time, especially considering what awaits me when I return home.

And yet the things that await me in Austin are the very forces that make me ready to go home. There are the people of course -- Mark, my parents, my sister, friend. But there's also a new chapter to start. Law school begins 25 August and this summer has steeled my for the challenge. It also taught me that I am not ready for an eight to five, Monday through Friday job, no matter how interesting the work. Hopefully I'll become more comfortable with this whole "job thing" as time goes on. For my sake. And Mark's!

So farewell loyal readers. It's been another great summer in Constantinople. I mean Istanbul.