Friday

The title of today's entry is "Last Year at This Time." It was after Christmas and before New Year's Eve, just like this year. Sunshine was way up in Kentucky, and I expected to see her only once more before she returned to México. I was back in town after Christmas, and had already stayed with a number of friends, once each. I'd sprung for a hotel for convenience already. My confidence in returning home for an extended period was at an all-time low. Was I an imposition on everyone? What right did I have to materialize for six weeks, expecting everyone else to accommodate me. Last Year at This Time, my closest friend was abroad and had loaned me her car. Last Year at This Time, I'd just spent the night in that car after other plans had faded away. I was dreading the next five weeks: how I was going to accomplish fitting back in? I could not visualize the future: the New Year's party around the corner, the convenient spare room I was to occupy. I didn't yet know that I was slipping easily back into routine with everyone here at home. Things would turn out to be relaxed, fun, and seemingly too brief at six weeks. I was only prepared for frustration, annoyance, and homesickness for Sunshine while I was home. I'm happy to say that things worked out better than that. This Year at This Time, I have none of these concerns. Possibly because I worked them through last year I have more overall faith in the matter. Either way, looking into the future--a party tonight, one on Sunday, and five more weeks of hanging-out with the people I love in the place I love--is in no way disheartening to me now. [Cavin]