First Day

Monday, August 17, 2009

8:37 PM

This morning we threw a load of laundry in and headed over to the college. I had prepared myself for this all weekend, so I walked through the door with my head held high and ready for whatever lay ahead of me.

I got my key from Ms. Bradanick, the Dean of Women and made my way across the street to the Jeanne Leforce dorm. Daddy pulled the van up outside and we all made quick work of unloading all my stuff into a somewhat scattered pile in the middle of my room. Since I’m working and had to be here a week early, the lights were all off and the room was a bit stuffy.

 

None of this mattered much, because after I flipped the lights on I noticed a continuous theme throughout this new place I’d call Home. Pink. Everything from the curtains, and the walls to the carpet on the floor. It was all various shades of Pink. Hmmm, this would definitely take some getting used to. At home, my walls were green. My bedding was green. Everything in my room was accented with green. Knowing me as most of you do, you would already be well aware that green and blue are my two favorite colors and as far as a decorating scheme would go . . . Pink would most definitely fall far down the list.

I shrugged my shoulders, no matter. J

I tackled the bed with Mckenna and Elaina with great success. I was pleasantly surprised at the finished product. It was all layer upon layer of comfy-ness and I loved it. There were my wonderfully smooth vintage sage sheets in a paisley pattern, and then the cool softness of my down comforter and homey green and cream quilt to top it all off. My bear, never to be left behind or forgotten by any means, lay in the middle of my pillow. It wasn’t home, but it sure was a start.

Next, the girls began to help me unpack my storage containers. I was rather adamant about not bringing suitcases along because I could just see myself bringing a multitude of suitcases now. No thank you, my boxes suited this girl just fine!

Mom wanted to make a quick run to Wal-Mart to grab some more hangers and a small refrigerator so I ran over to the kitchen real quick to talk to my boss, Mr. Dallas. He was busy talking with the parents of another kitchen worker so I waited. One of my friends stopped by and I talked to him for a few minutes until my boss had a minute. Another one of my friends was talking to Mom and the girls in the Van when I came back out so we stayed a little while longer and talked.

The quick trip to Wal-Mart turned into an hour long deal, resulting in a whole bunch of good stuff to unload in my room. A key chain ended up getting thrown into the cart to keep track of my dorm key, which I will have to keep with me night and day. If I lose that thing . . . Well, I just won’t be losing it. J

By the time we got back, it was time for me to head to work. I dropped mom and the girls off at the dorm to finish unloading the van and went to work. I had no idea what type of work I’d be doing today since none of the other students were arriving until next Friday. Work was a breeze, it ended up being a staff meeting that lasted somewhere close to two hours. Okay, so that was all fine and dandy. It really was, because my boss covered a lot of good stuff and I got a chance to meet my co-workers. Or, the ones I didn’t already know from working here this past Summer.

I had fifteen minutes between the meeting and supper so I headed back to my dorm to say a final goodbye to Mom and the girls before they left to go pick up Dad who had a meeting with my Pastor this afternoon. They showed me where they’d put everything and I discovered that Kenna had bought me some cutesy little magnets for my refrigerator. I had remarked earlier that I wished I had thought to buy some magnets for the fridge to make it more homey and Kenna had gone out while I was at work just to buy me some! She’s so awesome, I love her to pieces!

They loaded my fridge full of Vitamin Water and Starbucks Frappachino’s to my surprise and delight. My new Bubble clock with its seemingly one-hundred and one flickering lights was plugged in beside my laptop on my desk in the corner and my room smelled of Caramel Cream and Bliss Febreeze. They had done everything within their power to make my new room feel like home and I was so very thankful. God has blessed me with a fantastic family and I love them!

For those of you who don’t already know . . . I adore Febreeze with a passion! J

By this time, it was getting close to Dinner so I hugged and kissed them goodbye, snapped a few pictures and walked them to the Van. I walked to the kitchen, never looking back as they left the parking lot. In my opinion, that is the ONLY way to do it. It was like I’d see them sometime soon, rather than months down the road.

I sat with Danielle, a girl who lives next door to me. She and I instantly clicked, maybe its because we both share the same name? I don’t know, but she’s a really nice girl. She comes from a family of five, I come from a family of six. We’re both the oldest of all the kids and love taking care of our siblings. Okay, so basically you’re just starting to see a few similarities of why we became friends so easily. Thank the Lord for the way He works things out, because I am also in the same dorm as some friends I worked with this past Summer for Camp Barnabas.

After supper, Danielle and I came back to my room and crashed for something close to an hour and a half. She sat on one bed and I sat on mine, and we just talked and laughed, getting to know one another a bit better. It was nice. About eight-something, she went to her room to finish unpacking and I decided to call Mom and Dad. Dad answered the phone and we laughed over his funny phone message where he had pretended to be sniffing and crying his way through the whole thing. Typical Daddy — always awesome and super fantastic!

I got off the phone, organized a few things and walked aimlessly around my room feeling somewhat lonely. There are some people staying in the guest rooms that are located on the back end of my dorm, the entrance to both rooms is just outside my window so I watched them come and go as they unloaded their suitcases and such. Noticing the latch on my window, I went over to it and spun it around. It unlocked with ease and I lifted the window closest to my desk.

A funny little bird was chirping noisily in the tree outside my window and the night critters were just beginning to fill the air with comforting sounds I’d hear back home.

So here I sit, in front of my computer at my tiny wooden desk in the corner of my room. Listening to the sounds of cows mooing, night creatures and that tiny bird. My little clock is sitting on the desk beside me, changing colors in a slow methodic fashion. Perhaps if I’m bored at some point I will count the different shades of blues, greens, pinks, orange, and purples.

For now though, I think I will grab a Vitamin Water from the fridge and listen to my cows. Call me crazy if you will, but I grew up listening to cows almost every day of my life. Now they are yet another link to home for me and I have claimed them (or at least the sound of them) for my own.

I look back on this day and sigh in relief. Day one down and who knows how many more to go but I have made it thus far and know God will grant me wisdom, grace and strength to continue. I’m excited about starting work tomorrow, I hear we have yet another staff meeting but we’ll also have eight to ten hour days until Tuesday when our regular schedules will take effect.

I have yet to set my alarm which will become a vital part of my new life, so I’d better take a break for now and go figure it out. You know how new clocks are . . . The same as watches. Only slightly more complicated, of course! J