9am. No, not now.

Today I randomly met my best friend for a conversation in a parking lot around 9am. Surprisingly, this is not all that unusual for the two of us.

We talked about my first day of my last day of undergrad, which is today. Hooray. I went back to school 3 years ago simply because my whole life fell apart, I had no money (thank you Recession 2008-2000ever), and I didn't really want to keep working as hard as I was at a job I no longer enjoyed. But this wasn't something I planned to do. Going to college seemed, to me, the easiest route to take. I never struggled academically (just socially, emotionally, and chemically!), and I knew I could excel if I just went back and gave it the ol' college try.

We talked about this journey of self discovery through education and postsecondary learning and my best friend told me the story of 'Ms. Judy:' a family friend when my friend was a child, a woman born with severe dyslexia who struggled her entire life through school, a graduate of college after over 12 consecutive years of taking classes, re-taking classes, and learning to learn despite her disability, and, now, an elementary school teacher with empathy, hope, and experience to share with children in her classroom.

I love that. And I'm pretty sure I'd love 'Ms. Judy' too. I'm really grateful that learning has never been a challenge for me... because other areas of life have never come anywhere close to easy... so it's a balance thing... and a reminder to always, ALWAYS, stay grateful :)

... and work hard.

-On 27-

This is that place you may have passed one time at 45MPH...

 

 

You know how when your family has that place out of town that you travel to frequently and you feel like you know the trip so well you could see it driving with your eyes closed? That's how I feel about Hwy 27. I've headed either North or South on 27 most everyday of my life, I guess. And this little spot is so amazingly cool, you know, if you're in to delapidated structures and all. (Which I am, so... YAY.) This building sits at the junction of 27 and 19, the Florida-Georgia Parkway. I love flashing through those blinking caution lights all the way down the state wondering, "Do people really live here in... Two Egg!?" Well, I'm sure they do. But I digress.

 

And so stands, wearily, on the edge of rememberance, this old store-front. I stopped here with my love while passing through recently to snoop for secrets, and wonder what happened, and wander the scene. There were bluberry bushes around back...

 

I like the way my belly feels when I peer into windows not knowing what I might find. 'Cause, really, how often do you find underbrush growing within a building? I like the way my mind and my eyes search every old shelf, dusty corner, for some sign of previous life. All the while I remember my previous life, and that not-so-old house that was left much in the same way this one must have looked when I fled those years ago. Sometimes the darkness in others and within ourselves is more subtle than dusk falling second by second. Sometimes the best thing to do is run...



 

Standing in this time warp, I contemplated what seemed like my entire existence in a matter of 3 minutes. I see metaphors in most everything, and this building was no exception. What ever destroyed it is gone now, and the new growth within its unnatural walls tout a feral conformity to new laws of life. It is like me. Those who have done their part to belittle and invalidate me are no longer around, and the new life I've been given resembles my old purpose but a little. I have been formed and reformed by the elements surrounding me, and the most basic and truest form of myself is still here.....life has just peeled back a few layers to give me a better view of the sky ;)