settling in

I'm fully convinced that it takes me a solid week to settle into a new phase and actually feel all of the emotions that are attached with everything.

This morning I woke up and finally "felt" break.

Up until this point, I've just enjoyed not touching anything "autism" or "school psychology" for almost two weeks :). Christmas shopping added another spur of mad "to do's" that ruffled my feathers a bit. Now that Christmas celebrations (the superficial ones, anyway) are over, I'm just home. With my family (Cory and Molly included).

My favorite part of break has been reconnecting with Co. We've had a really busy, tough year. Not tough in the "I thought we wouldn't make it" way -- I never had any doubts -- but tough in that we barely saw each other.. and when we did, it was always for some external reason (weddings, funerals, football games). It's nice to spend time together just for the sake of it.

We've been working on our marriage budget and honeymoon plans, both which are coming along quite smoothly. Every financial expert I've been exposed to has said that money is one of the top things that can tear a marriage apart. Cory and I really do agree on financial "stuff" -- we both enjoy getting creative with funds, and we both think that saving as much as we can is super important at our age... and we work together well. His strength is knowing the facts about money, and my strength is being able to organize it in an accessible way (prettiest, most functional excel spreadsheet you've ever seen..). I thought we would work together well, but it's extra nice to see that we actually do.

Last night we had a lovely little party with the high school crew. We both had a really good time -- it was so great to see everyone and catch up on what people are up to. As we all get older, it's also interesting to see how different we've all become. When we're in a big group, I tend to get a funny feeling -- mildly anxious, easily excited, less happy. It's been like that since high school, but last night -- with Cory there -- I only had that feeling when I wasn't standing by his side. I love my old friends so much, but I'm so much more at peace with the world (and so much more myself) when I'm with Cory. It's a good thing -- I think it just means that I've changed and grown (as many of us have), and what used to be doesn't fit right anymore.

It's kind of a little bit liberating.

So I'm looking forward to adventuring with Cory for the rest of break. We're doing cake tastings this Wednesday, then we're heading up to Greer to do New Years celebrations there (as well as attend some parties in honor of his friend Mark). Cory goes back to work the first week in January, and I think I will, too. I have a lot of odds and ends to do before school starts, and I want to put in five days or so of work on projects that I know are coming (conference presentations, etc.). I probably should have worked more over break, but the time away has been so invigorating. Grad school is more a state of mind than anything else -- it's very "all or nothing" -- so the only way to truly escape is to put it all away.

:)

Dad and Cory are golfing, so I think Molly and I will go shopping. I got a sewing machine for Christmas, so I'm super excited to get some patterns and start relearning how to use it (I haven't sewn in years!). My goal is to sew the runners and pillows for our reception... but before then, I want to practice on some projects that people won't be necessarily seeing. I really want to make some cute shift dresses this summer...

Merry Christmas, everyone!