[live high]

and oh, let's take it easy
and celebrate the malleable reality
because nothing is ever as it seems
this life is but a dream


-jason mraz


[rocky mountain high]


life lesson #5,672: schistosomes a mile high still itch. a lot.

so, i'm finally here. denver. it seems so surreal, watching television with the fam in the hotel room. of course, it's so appropriate that john denver is on, playing what song? oh, rocky mountain high. love it. quote of the night: "not everyone knows west virginia, but everyone knows what it feels like to go home." and russell road, how you do that so, so well.

things that have become clear to me over the long travel hours:

my mother does NOT travel well.
my father has the patience of a literal saint.
my body HATES me and has the worst timing in the entire world.
schistosomes are most prevalent at the end of may and early june (what genius got in the water in early june....me.)

my mother and i do not see eye to eye, especially in regards to moving dates. i am adamant about moving over the week of July 4th, which will eliminate the need for me to take off any more time from camp than absolutely necessary. she believes that i should sign the lease for august, which would require me to miss the second to last week of camp (on top of the last week i'll already be missing) in order to save money. while i see her point, there is no price you can put on camp. it is home, and i will do whatever i have to in order to spend as much time there as possible during my last summer.

i have not spent this much time with my parents in a VERY long time. my patience is definitely hanging on by a thread. it's only sunday.

i'm going to have to deal with a whole lot of adult issues, like making rent payments, utility bills, setting up internet and cable, insurance, medical costs, phone bills....um, basically i'm going to have to get my act together if i want to be successful in a big city with a small salary. but it's my salary, all the same, and i'm incredibly proud of the work i'm doing. i wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

moving is exciting/overwhelming/terrifying/thrilling....indescribable. there are still so many questions: what grade will i be teaching, how am i going to set up my classroom, where will i get my allergy shots, where is the closest YMCA and farmer's market, how am i going to learn spanish in two months, how am i going to make friends, will i be able to find people to come outside and play with me, when can i go camp in the mountains, what will happen when i leave everyone behind? the unknowns are stressful. i am going to have to rely on that deep-rooted confidence in my own ability to adapt and overcome. not that it's going to be a chore to move, i'm beyond excited about it, but it is going to present challenges that will push my limits.

i say bring it on.

and while i'm here in denver, focused on finding somewhere to live, i'm totally neglecting my waterfront director duties. there are SO many things that need to be taken care of in regards to the waterfront, like putting in swim lines, sweeping the area for debris, marking the swim sections, blowing up tubes and the volleyball net, making posts for the rule signs, getting together information for the waterfront session of staff orientation (my role in staff orientation is something i've COMPLETELY neglected and i will go crazy as soon as i get back to camp trying to put everything together).


whew. breathe.


i don't quite understand how this is all going to work out, but somehow we'll fit it all in. everything will get done exactly as it needs to.


peace.