An Update At Last

Well, it's taken almost a month and a half to write again, but it's been quite a month and a half. There has been a lot happening, a lot to process, and a lot to struggle with. Now I find myself way behind and most likely needing to request extensions for deadlines and classes.

So where to begin? My sister visited me back in October, and that was a lot of fun. The third family member to come to visit in Princeton (after Paul and uncle John), and it's always exciting to show new people around. Unfortunately, I broke her camera while we were in New York, but thankfully she had mine to use to take pictures. She got to see the fall colors, the Princeton University museum, and most of the city. Pretty exciting.

Then my friend, Cathy, came out to visit. Before that, through numerous phone conversations, I found out that my grandmother was beginning to decline fairly quickly, and probably didn't have much more than three weeks left. That was when my schedule came to a screeching halt. My thoughts and feelings were all at home at that point, and I was just waiting for the point when I could come home physically. Still, I tried to push on (unsuccessfully), and having Cathy come out was definitely uplifting.

We went to New Hope, which is a location I was told I had to see. I can see why it is, but it's definitely a Fall/Spring place. The outdoor entertainment is the draw, but when it's 40* outside, there's not much outdoor entertainment to be had. But, believe it or not, I actually found a decent Mexican restaurant in New Hope. It's still only good by East Coast standards, but still good. Her visit was enjoyable, but unfortunately cut short.

While Cathy was visiting, I received the phone call that my grandmother had passed away. It was right after we had gotten back from New Hope. I was shellshocked from the news, but I had alerted my professors to what was going on, so I was able to leave quickly. Being at home was good, though hard under the circumstances. I was happy to be able to see family and church friends. But my grandmother is also the closest person I've known who has passed away, and dealing with that first close loss is always difficult.

It didn't hit me until the day of the funeral, and a lot of the emotional outpouring happened on that day. It has been difficult since then as well. Being back at school as been a struggle. My mentally and emotionally I'm not here even though I physically am. It's only two weeks until I am back at home again, which sometimes makes me wonder why I came back out here at all. But with final papers due and other obligations, I suppose there's no way it could be avoided. For now, I have to try to focus on what's going on out here, and deal with the rest as it comes.

It's moving toward winter here, though it's still pretty warm (mid 50s most days, down into the high 30s at night). And registration for Spring classes begins on Wednesday. I have no idea what I'm going to take; its been the hardest semester to try to figure it out because none of the classes look all that appealing. No doubt my current emotional state is partly to blame for that.

I'll be home again on December 15. Seems so far away, even though it's only two weeks. Hopefully when I update again, things will be a bit cheerier than they are now.