Lesson learned
I will have been home three weeks tomorrow. I think I'm finally settling back into being home. What I've not settled into is the notion that I'm back in school in less than a month. To me, summer vacation just began! How can it possibly be nearly time for classes to resume?
So I stress a bit when I think of the things I need to get done before school hits. And I stress more when I look at our weekends. Each one keeps getting booked with something, so it feels like time is moving along that much faster. Slow down already!
Tomorrow also marks the departure of our friends, Melanie and Will. They're moving to Virginia and will be sorely missed. Steve met Mel through work a couple of years ago and they became fast friends. The four of us got together when we could. Will travels a lot for work, so it wasn't as often as we would have liked. But we always had a great time, so there was quality time, if not a quantity of it. But Mel and I didn't spend any time together until after I got back from England. There was always the hope to, but she had work and I had school and we just never managed to coordinate our schedules. I even had a standing invitation to go to her house to decompress during a school day, because she lived only five minutes from campus. But I never took her up on it.
Then, shortly before I left for England, we found out Will was being transferred. Suddenly time was short and very precious. Steve hung with them at least once whilst I was away, but it was my return that really put a priority on it. Mel and I spent two afternoons together on the beach collecting sharks' teeth and shells. And she introduced me to the surprisingly enjoyable work of shell crafting (I find it very relaxing - much in the same way as constructing a quilt top). We had one last dinner out, and tomorrow they're gone.
Yes, we'll go see them in Virginia. So it's not like we'll never lay eyes upon them again. And we're all on Facebook, so we'll be in touch. But it's not the same. I truly regret not making more time to spend more time with Melanie. I allowed school to consume me. Yes, school is important, but so are friends. This situation has reminded me that the time we have together isn't going to last forever. There isn't always going to be a tomorrow. So, it's so very important that we make time to be with the people we care about. That's a big lesson and one I need to keep in mind.
This semester is going to be horrific on my time. I'm carrying 12 hours and teaching three Friday classes. If last year is any indicator, I'll be feeling the time crunch within a couple of weeks and my first inclination is going to be to push off any social interactions. I need to make a concerted effort to remember Melanie and Will, and not be so quick to decline spending time with friends. You just never know when you're going to say good-bye. And really, is a perfect grade or a spic-n-span house really worth more than time with friends? I have a learned, a bit too late in this case, that the answer is no.
So I stress a bit when I think of the things I need to get done before school hits. And I stress more when I look at our weekends. Each one keeps getting booked with something, so it feels like time is moving along that much faster. Slow down already!
Tomorrow also marks the departure of our friends, Melanie and Will. They're moving to Virginia and will be sorely missed. Steve met Mel through work a couple of years ago and they became fast friends. The four of us got together when we could. Will travels a lot for work, so it wasn't as often as we would have liked. But we always had a great time, so there was quality time, if not a quantity of it. But Mel and I didn't spend any time together until after I got back from England. There was always the hope to, but she had work and I had school and we just never managed to coordinate our schedules. I even had a standing invitation to go to her house to decompress during a school day, because she lived only five minutes from campus. But I never took her up on it.
Then, shortly before I left for England, we found out Will was being transferred. Suddenly time was short and very precious. Steve hung with them at least once whilst I was away, but it was my return that really put a priority on it. Mel and I spent two afternoons together on the beach collecting sharks' teeth and shells. And she introduced me to the surprisingly enjoyable work of shell crafting (I find it very relaxing - much in the same way as constructing a quilt top). We had one last dinner out, and tomorrow they're gone.
Yes, we'll go see them in Virginia. So it's not like we'll never lay eyes upon them again. And we're all on Facebook, so we'll be in touch. But it's not the same. I truly regret not making more time to spend more time with Melanie. I allowed school to consume me. Yes, school is important, but so are friends. This situation has reminded me that the time we have together isn't going to last forever. There isn't always going to be a tomorrow. So, it's so very important that we make time to be with the people we care about. That's a big lesson and one I need to keep in mind.
This semester is going to be horrific on my time. I'm carrying 12 hours and teaching three Friday classes. If last year is any indicator, I'll be feeling the time crunch within a couple of weeks and my first inclination is going to be to push off any social interactions. I need to make a concerted effort to remember Melanie and Will, and not be so quick to decline spending time with friends. You just never know when you're going to say good-bye. And really, is a perfect grade or a spic-n-span house really worth more than time with friends? I have a learned, a bit too late in this case, that the answer is no.
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