Happy Mother's Day!

Well, it's been a crazy day of paper writing. This is my last week of classes, perhaps forever, and everything is coming due in the next few days. I'm pretty much done with two of my classes, and I have a 20 page paper due tomorrow and a project due on Thursday. Friday is going to be a great day.

I don't think it has quite hit me yet that I won't be in seminary classes next year. I'm in one of those strange transitional spaces--it's time to leave classes, but it's not quite time to start my chaplaincy. It feels a bit like the summer between high school and college, or college and my first full-time job. I have this image of myself trying to walk out of a room, and there's something that is holding on to one of my ankles. I tug and I tug, but it still has a grasp. Slowly, over the last few days, it's begun to release it's grip.

I spent all day today in coffee houses. I was in the Temescal Cafe, a funky little dive down the street from me, from 10am to 4pm when it closed. I moved on to Tumble and Tea, this coffee house with a fabulous play area for toddlers, and stayed there until it closed at 6:30pm. It's kind of comforting to do homework there. I'm reminded of my 5 years at the children's museum as the kids run around dressed like lions and dinosaurs.

The next few days are going to be pretty busy. My friend Natalya is giving a presentation on her senior project Monday night before our 7pm class, Tuesday I'm helping to plan a worship service at church, Wednesday I work in the advancement office and go to an afternoon class, Thursday I have a project due in the afternoon and the seminary's graduation that night (I'm not graduating yet, but some people I love and adore are), Friday is my friend Lisa's ordination, Saturday I'm writing a sermon on the beach (if you have to write a sermon, you might as well do it there), and Sunday I'm preaching at church for our Coming of Age Service.

Whew--so many transitions! So much is changing. I keep expecting myself to be a bit more freaked out, but it's all just as it should be. As hard and exhausting as next year is going to be, it's time. It's just, time. That feels pretty good.

P.S. The photo was taken a few years ago when I was working at the children's museum. I'm teaching the kids about the life cycle of ants.