When I was in college I use to love to drive. Several times I can remember spending 10 to 12 hours driving to and from school to spend roughly the same amount or less time in at home. But now I dread the drive home. Yes it is a little longer of a drive these days which makes it even harder to get motivated to drive. And also this year I was to be driving alone, since my fiancee and I had decided to do holidays separate for the last year. So looking to drive from Atlanta to Memphis was not something I was looking forward too. So I cheated and downloaded an audio book from iTunes, Blue Like Jazz. I had read this book a few years ago but needed to re-read it for myself as well for a class. (I will also write a blog post about my thoughts and reactions to this book.) So with a audio book on my ipod I was ready to tackle my 6 1/2 hour drive across the south.
With a book to listen to it was truly a nice trip. I was able to listen to the book, pause and think about what the author had said. It also gave me a bit of time to do some reflecting on the year thus far. The drive to Memphis was all in all a wonderful time. My time in Memphis was also a wonderful time. I enjoy spending time with my family, it was nice to hang out with them and talk about life.
One thing that got me thinking while I was in Memphis was cleaning out my old room at my parents house. For someone who is somewhat of a pack rat, and doesn't like to clean, this was a something I was not looking forward to. But I forced myself to go through the mounds of stuff that had accumulated in my room for the 7 years I lived there during middle and high school and the one summer spent there during college. It was funny how my room had shifted from my room to the place where my old stuff resided. It was fun to go through some of my stuff I had forgotten about and find treasures from my past. As I was cleaning I came across a box of notes from high school from various girls and friends. After looking through many of them I realized where a great deal of my time in high school was spent... reading, writing and passing notes. Also part of my job of cleaning my room was removing all the pictures I had placed on the walls. One of my walls was devoted to pictures of my friends, the places we had gone and the things we had done. It was nice to look through those pictures. It brought up so many good memories, and made me wonder where some of these people are now. Once all was cleaned and removed, I spent my last night in "my room." Yes, I know it will always be my old room, but with new paint and new furniture (my parents hope), it will have been transformed into a "new" room for me. I am reminded that there is nothing constant in this world but change.
So all in all it was a wonderful break, not to short and not to long. It was a wonderful time to reflect and look back, and make ready for the coming of a new year with all new challenges.
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