07 August 2010

the times they are a-changin'.

browsing bookstores has been my saturday morning ritual since i was a college freshman and needed a way to escape the dorm, where i shared a bedroom and forty girls shared a bathroom. every saturday, i headed off bookstores to read and think and enjoy the quiet.

i can still wander the aisles for hours, getting lost between the shelves. sometimes i order a coffee, sometimes i don't, but the hours i spend wandering give me interrupted time to myself, even though i no longer share a room or a bathroom, or even an apartment.

this summer, my ritual has become highly anticipated, as I have read fourteen books in as many weeks. i spiced things up today, though, and went to target first, then to the bookstore. in doing so, i came to a sudden realization of how much and how quickly my life is changing. 

at target, i realized that this is the first august since babyhood that i don't need school supplies. no more binders, no more notebook paper. every year since i can remember, i have looked forward to new school supplies. but i don't need them anymore.

at the bookstore, i realized that i no longer need textbooks. my days as an english major are over.

it's not that this makes me sad. in fact, i am incredibly excited about the adventures awaiting me. it's just different. i am three months out of college, but only now am i feeling the change.

making life decisions and seeing my friends off on their own adventures means a lot of changes are occurring all at once.

good thing i still have my saturday mornings at the bookstore. some things should stay the same. 


/\ /\ /\ a relic of these changing times: the 1920s fan that emory gave me when she moved. it was her aunt's and she passed it along to me. isn't it lovely?

4 comments:

  1. Awwww! It looks perfect next to Gran Gran's afgan! Love it!! I bet even Bob Dylan could appreciate the scene! XOXO

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  2. Oh yeah! I forgot! Where is it written that you no longer need school supplies?? I always like a fresh "64 count" box of Crayola Crayons in the cupboard just in case!

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  3. I looked at that fan about fifty times last night. and just assumed it was your grandmother's!

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  4. The days change, then months go by then years but You my lovely niece will always be You. The awsome life that encircles you and all around you is breathtaking.

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