Stray Thoughts

I decided to leave my job of 4 1/2 years because I knew it was time. I'm surprised how hard it has been to sever my ties. Partially because while I left, they have asked me to stick around until they hire a replacement and I can train that person. So, I haven't really left. Also because no one said goodbye and good luck. My leaving was not announced to the teachers. The board didn't send me a card expressing their well wishes for my future. I haven't even been asked to turn in my keys since I am still helping with the transition. While I didn't expect a party since part of the reason I am leaving is because I was told not to interact with the staff, I still thought something would be said or done. I'm leaving a bit sad because I feel I didn't do enough for the school.  It has been startling to me how often people ask what do I do, and soon I will have to say nothing. I'm too young to be retired.  I'm using the next few months to travel and figure out...

Today I bumped into an old friend, which is not hard to do when you've lived in the same town for over 20 years. In this case, it was someone our daughter went to school with. Someone we exchange Christmas cards with. Someone, at one point, I thought I could take the next step of friendship with, but for some reason or another, it never quite happened that way. Even today as we were chatting at the entrance to PetSmart I thought about inviting her to get continue the conversation over a cup of tea, but I didn't. As she said "I don't want to hold you up any longer," I didn't reply with "I'd love to keep chatting." I just realized our friendship would always just be a quick catching up on the lives of each other, our spouses, and our daughters until the next time we bumped into each other again. While that should be enough, I still wish we been able to move to the next stage of friendship.

Yesterday my hair dresser asked Nadia to call me to encourage me to come in an hour early. She said there was a strong storm in the forecast (news to me) and she wanted me to be safe. I thought that was odd, but I'd take her up on the offer. The day turned out to be sunny and clear, so no need for concern. When I asked her about it, since it seemed out of character. She said her best friend's sister (Susan) was killed in a flash flood earlier in the week and she wanted to make sure I was safe. Well, that gave the conversation from the day before a new perspective. Be safe -- flash floods are nothing to mess with. They can sweep you away in an instant.

  It has been both a long week and a short week, if that is possible. The week started on Sunday with Ashley calling to say her car suddenly stopped working. More on that in a different post. Speaking of suddenly stopping to work ... thunderstorms are threatening to take away our power. The internet keeps coming and going. Now it is Friday. Don and Ashley are both behind the scenes at shows -- Ashley at Bucks County Playhouse with Alien8, Don at Somerset Valley Players with Guys and Dolls. Me, on my own. On Tuesday I thought I would be home alone since we were down a car, but it was repaired yesterday (several days earlier than expected). I decided to spend this sticky night in Princeton. While waiting in line for ice cream from the bent spoon, I overheard a couple of 20-somethings chatting. The woman was animated talking about a number of different topics with an excitement I have missed in my own conversations. The man, a friend, had a lilting Island accent I later learned was fr...