Farewell to Freedom

Reality has hit. My days of freedom and fun are ending. School starts in exactly one week! Yikes! Today I went up to Richardson to the University of Texas at Dallas campus to buy a parking permit, get a student ID, and discuss racquetball opportunities with the recreational sports office. My schedule is set: clinical practicum in the morning, classes in the afternoon, work in the evening and on the weekends, and studying and fun squeezed in there somewhere. Although this dramatic change in my lifestyle seems like it could be a bit overwhelming, I am very excited about starting classes, learning information most people don't care to know, working with preschoolers, and making new friends. In the meantime, though, I will enjoy reading for pleasure, quilting, playing piano, feeding turtles and ducks, riding bikes, dancing, and playing Settlers of Catan. Wow! Just one more week left of my amazingly fun summer!

Just in case your curiosity was peaked by my previous mention of racquetball, I am hoping to have enough time to commit to the Racquetball Club at UTD. This is a competitive club (kind of intimidating) that is funded by the university (to provide uniforms and travel expenses) that will give me the opportunity to improve my mad-racquetball skills, meet some good players, relieve stress, stay fit-and-trim, and compete with other university teams. My racquetball buddies live in Abilene and I have barely endured this summer without them and this incredibly awesome sport- these are dire times that call for desperate measures- like joining the Racquetball Club while taking 14 hours in graduate school, doing clinical practicum, and working at least 20 hours per week!

A New Job and a Road Trip

Immediately after my week full of fun and games I was offered a job at Bath & Body Works which drastically altered my lifestyle! No longer do my days consist of reading good books, playing the piano, feeding the turtles, and beating people in Catan; instead I am a grown, working woman in the "real world". *sigh* Alas, it has been a great experience thus far, and I believe it is a wonderful opportunity for me to be Jesus. This three-hour-drive east has placed me in a community that is desperate for the peace and joy that God has given me to share with whomever I encounter.

On another note... I went to see Amber Joy (and Kent Brantly, of course) in Indianapolis with my family last week! The luscious green landscape of their abode was a perfect greeting for five exhausted and squooshed people who had been on the road for 15 hours. Amber, I absolutely love your place! (How do you always get the greatest living conditions?) We enjoyed "shower-ing" with the well-respected and deeply loved Brantly clan and their church family, and seeing where Amber and Kent work and go to school. I suffered through a terrible beating in PIXAR/Disney Monopoly on account of my new brother-in-law. But, no worries, I am still the Queen of Catan! It was wonderful to see my dear sister so happy in her new home with her new family.

Just for the record, your life is not complete unless you have gone on a road trip with the Carroll family! It is always crowded, and the car just seems to shrink as the time passes. We listen to Adventures in Odyssey, Radio Theaters, Michael W. Smith's "Freedom", Latin- yes, we learned Latin on the way to Indiana (amo, amas, amat, amamos, amatis, amant), grammar (this one was rough), and other random music while we color, read, sew, sleep, and sprawl our legs in search of a more comfortable position. And when we stop, we look like a bunch of clowns filing out of the clown car. Great times! I love my family- thank You, God!