Theory of Relativity

It's nearly 1:30 in the morning, and I'm getting droopy-eyed and fuzzy-brained, but I'm blogging anyway. Who knows when I'll get another chance. Last week was Spring Break, and I spent it in Maryland with my family. It was so much fun and such a good (and very needed) rest, but I didn't get much schoolwork done. So now I'm even further behind than I was before Spring Break, but I'm hoping that the rest I got will enable me to dig in and get the work done. Just over a month to graduation after all.

We submitted the final proof of Concept today. I am so excited about the way it turned out. It looks great, and I think we made the right choices about what submissions to include. Everyone on the staff worked so hard, and it is so satisfying to see everything come together. Tonight there was a reading at school, and I got a chance to talk to Professor Mulkey about some of my grad school questions. I found out that I have to have a story ready before this month is over! Yay! Another thing to add to my neverending to do list. I'm starting to freak out a little bit about getting everything done. (Okay, I was already freaking out before Spring Break. I guess, I'm just freaking out all over again. Or maybe I never stopped.)

At least I got to spend the week with my family. It's always wonderful to see the whole gang up in Maryland. There's nothing more soothing than an evening of Nanny's good cooking and baked goods. Of course, I also managed to squeeze in the requisite shopping with Grammy and a side trip to Antietam for Steve, the Civil War history buff. It is always like some kind of miracle how for a week I can slide into the lives of people whom I see so rarely. Sometimes I wonder what their lives are like when I'm not around. It's like quantum physics for relatives - if an aunt has dinner with your grandmother and you're not there to see it, does the gravy taste as good? Seriously though, it is curious how I can be folded into the lives of people and then slip away for another year. During the intervening year that passes between visits, there is no piece of me remaining in Maryland. Everyone's lives go on whether I'm there or not. Remember that movie Brigadoon about the town that sleeps for one hundred years only to awaken for one day before sleeping again? That' s what my annual visits feel like: updates on what has passed in my absence.

This digression about my Maryland visits makes them sound so negative, and that was not my intention. My time away from family would not seem so poignant if I didn't feel such love when I'm in their presence. Ultimately, I am grateful for my family and the time I have to spend with them.