The Beginning!

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Lao-Tzu

So I am on the plane headed for Paris. I just woke up from a very restless night's sleep (if you can even call it that). We're over top of land now, so I'm thinking that means that we're getting close. I am anxious anxious anxious!!! The goodbyes were a little more tearful than I had anticipated; it's just so strange that when I come back life as I know it at Ohio State will be completely different.

I can see the sunrise out my window now, and when I left Cincinnati the sun was setting. It is the fist day of a new life, and as I said before I am anxious! I'm anxious to meet my new roommate and anxious to meet this family that I'll be living with for the next 5 months. I'm anxious to see Paris, I'm so excited to wander that city. As difficult as it is to leave my old, comfortable life, and as much as sometimes I would love to stay with the people that I love so much, I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now. The first step is the most difficult one, but there's no turning back now.

Anticipation

"Time, you old gypsy man, will you not stay? Put up your caravan, just for one day" R. Hodgson

4 days! Part of me just wants to fast forward to 6:30 Saturday night when I will be on a plane en route to Paris and part of me wants these next 4 days to go by as slowly as possible. The goodbyes are starting and that's scary. Saying goodbye to Maria on Monday night was the first time it really hit me. Yesterday was my last day working with Robbie and today will be my last day working with the French family. My room has exploded during the packing process and my suitcases are still empty.

Seeing the Deeley boys on Monday night really got me thinking about how quickly time is passing. I've been babysitting for the Deeley's for almost ten years now; when I started they had one little boy who was 10 months old. Now TJ is 10 years old and he has 4 little brothers. I'll be in Paris for 5 months, and in the grand scheme of things, 5 months really isn't that long. But oh how much can change in that short span of time. I think about where I was 5 months ago--I had just returned from an amazing summer in Spain, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life or my education, I had a very rocky relationship with some of my friends, I had no jobs lined up, I was restless and eager to get back over to Europe.

So much has changed since then, but at the same time so much has stayed the same. I'm still the same girl--still love to cook, love languages, love to read, I have the same great family, the same great friends. So where will the next 5 months take me? I'm desperate to know, but time is something you just cannot rush.

The Countdown

"For travel to be delightful, one must have a good place to leave and return to" -Frederick B. Wilcox

So since I have a beautiful new computer to start this blog on and since I am leaving in approximately one week, I decided now would be a good a time as any to start this blog thing. So here goes; I'm slightly terrified of leaving. Like the above quote says one must have a good place to leave and return to, and I'm discovering now more than I ever that I love my life in Columbus. I have some of the best friends I could ever hope for, a great relationship with my roommates, and a great relationship with my family.

But apparently that's a recipe for a delightful travel experience. We'll see. So the goal for the next 8 days is to have as much fun as humanly possible and to spend as much time with the people I will sorely miss. Yes, and pack too. The packing part really needs to start happening sooner rather than later. Okay I don't really have anything else. We'll see how all this goes.