I Heard it Downtown

I had been telling myself that “things will get back to normal in just a few weeks” for most of 2008…at this point, I’m ready to give up. I rolled in from Arizona a few days ago eager to stop living out of my suitcase and enjoy a few days of normalcy…but this is not to be.

My sister and Mother are wrapping up the frenzied process of moving far away…to Madison, Wisconsin, so she (my mom) can pursue her PhD. The house that I grew up in is now a chaotic frenzy of boxes and mayhem. A few hours ago, the family dog, a creature not known for his exceptional intellectual capabilities, noticed that something was amiss. His pillow was gone, his path to the backdoor obstructed by cardboard boxes stacked so high they have their own zip codes. Deep in that tiny dog brain of his, even Sammy understood the basic truth of the matter. Times are changin’. The gig is up.

Yup, there is just no getting around it at this point…the chord has been cut, and full-fledged independence is staring me right in the face again. This house hasn’t actually been my primary residence for years (I’ve done so much bouncing around, I’m having difficulty answering the question where are you from?), but it still has some fairly powerful symbolic meaning. My apartment in Columbus wasn’t so far away that I couldn’t drive down if my heater broke (which it did), or if I was broke as a joke and needed something more nourishing than Granola bars (which I did), or do some emergency laundry. Me and the rest of the family didnt actually sleep in Granville that often, but it was still our home base.

Now, poof! Half of my family is now 600 miles away (and at a rival Big 10 Institution no less! If they moved to Ann Arbor, this entry would have a lot more profanity)…and my other half is about to go 2,400 miles away to San Jose.

So what does this mean? Well, if I can step outside my incredibility narcissistic self for a second, its obviously a wonderful opportunity for my mom and sister. While I’m a little disappointed that the core of my family is going to be so scattered, this represents an awesome opportunity to further her career (although it means I’m going to have to call her Dr.Mom for the rest of my life, which could become insufferable). Plus, even though its been a wonderful home for us, Granville is also home of an awful lot of Ghosts…and sometimes, you just need to load up the ol’ van and get the hell out of dodge.

So in a few days, when the vans and trucks pull away, there will be no mistaking what it means. Its sink or swim time. There is nothing tying me to Granville, (and after a few more credit hours, Ohio in general). Time to make our own way…the old gig is up.