I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some
poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning,
middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the
moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to
happen next.
-Gilda Radner
Yesterday morning I woke up in my car for the last time in what could be a long time. I lay there in my morning haze listening to the birds chirping and the shopping carts banging together. After a while I got psyched up to begin my day of last times. I drove to campus for the last time, wondering what it would be like not to drive within the first ten minutes of waking up. I took a shower in the gym for the last time and cleaned out my locker. I went to see my lovely office ladies, sitting at the desk I took over two years ago. Would you believe that as a going away gift the ladies paid for more than half of the belt I need? Ever since Maine the extreme squeaking is at an all time loud and now I have cash to fix it next week.
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| An amazing gift from Debbie, our resident quilter |
Living in my car means that I haven't had a place to go "home" to. Consequently, the office has doubled as my home. I had a french press, books, art supplies. All sorts of stuff I'd collected over the past two years and stashed in drawers and closets. If the office has been my home then the ladies have been my roommates, hanging out with me all day every day, talking through decisions, getting me through Spanish, commiserating about professors. It was hard to say goodbye, but I did and I headed out of town for the last time.
I don't know exactly what I'm up to this summer. I want to work outside if possible, taking advantage of the sunshine, but I'm still going to miss chatting in the office.On to the next adventure!
I like the picture! You can always sleep in your car from time to time if you like. I'll bet you'll miss it a lot!
ReplyDeleteSurely living in the car has forever changed you in some way whether it's to fuel the urge to wander occasionally or maybe return to this lifestyle at some point. In any case, I hope life is good to you and you keep enjoying it immensely.
It sounds like you are beginning a new chapter in your life and it will be even more fun and exciting!
Brad aka Van Trekker
Onward.
ReplyDeleteYou are on a new Journey and you don't have any idea what's going to happen or what your going to do.
ReplyDeleteAnything is possible, nothing is impossible.
Embrace your fear, feel it, then give it a hug. It's the only way you know that you are truly alive.
Keep writing. You have started something here and it is not time to walk away from it, the story does not have a proper ending. Keep in touch with us.
Tuckerbug. There should be a place to enshrine this vehicle of dreams, it has truly been a vessel of growth and adventure.
Holy moly...this is a beautiful post. Absolutely gorgeous. So powerful and moving.
ReplyDeleteYour journey may seem like it's coming to an end, but it's just taking another turn. Perhaps you'll revisit car living now and again just for fun, and not out of necessity. The people you meet when you're a teacher all appear in your life for a reason; they're here so you can learn whatever it is you need to learn. (This is year 15 for me, and I'm finally starting to "get" some of the lessons the universe has sent me in the form of problem students and awkward teaching moments.)
But whatever you do, don't stop blogging about it. This is beautifully photographed and told, and it would be a shame if you stopped telling your stories.
Debbie showed me the quilt and I was AMAZED. How cute and thoughtful is that??
ReplyDeleteAlso so awesome that they helped pay for the belt! You sure got lucky with that crew ;) .... mainly me, of course.
I'm going to miss you Ashley! Thanks for all the wine and laughs :)
Good luck on your next journey, and keep in touch!