I’m currently sitting on an airplane on my way to Philadelphia for Peace Corps staging and departure. To say that the past few days have been a roller coaster of emotions would be an understatement. On Thursday, I finished packing all my belongings, including three bicycles, into my 5x5 storage unit. It was quite a feat. I was glad to be done with that, as the unit is in Woodinville and I was growing tired of the trips back and forth. Friday was devoted to packing and final preparations. Trying to fit everything you want to bring for a 27 month adventure into two bags with a total weight limit of eighty pounds isn’t easy (especially when you don’t have a scale to weigh them on). Packing was going ok, until I realized that I had accidentally put all my Peace Corps paperwork in my storage unit, underneath three precariously stacked bicycles:
…commence meltdown number one. After collapsing on the floor and swearing at myself, I managed to pull myself together in time to meet Christopher for dinner with friends and a late movie. After the movie came meltdown number two. Up until this point, I hadn’t cried about leaving at all… now I was a complete basket case.
Luckily Saturday was a beautiful day, which helped to raise my spirits. My dad arrived from Europe in the early afternoon and I picked him up at the airport. We drove up to Woodinville so I could dig my papers out of storage. Then we were able to enjoy the wonderful weather with a run along Lake Washington. We spent some time basking in the sun on the dock in Coleman Park then went to make preparations for a little family going-away party. The evening was wonderful.
Sunday morning, I realized that I only had one day left, and the stress started to catch up with me again. People deal with stress in all different ways. I sometimes deal with it by blacking out… which I did. That one gave Christopher quite a scare. After I pulled myself together and took a bunch of ibuprofen (I managed to hit my head on the way down), we went to Easter brunch with the Cuttings and dinner at Dad’s house. Christopher and I got home from Bainbridge at about 9pm and I finished up my packing before bed. I could only hope that my bags were under the weight limit.
When I got to the airport this morning, I weighed my bags – 75 pounds! Phew. That was about the only easy part of the morning. More goodbyes (Christopher and my mom) made for a very weepy Lucy. I was starting to have serious misgivings about going, which I’m sure were all related to leaving my family and friends. When I got on the plane, however, I began reading my spiffy new Guatemala guide book, and was reminded of what an amazing adventure this is going to be. I began thinking about all the reasons I joined the Peace Corps, and reassured myself that I’m taking the right path. As I write this, I feel just as excited about joining the Peace Corps as I did when I was first accepted.
I want to end this post by saying that I’m so incredibly thankful to my family and friends for their undying love and support. I could not have set off on this adventure without your help and kind words. I feel blessed to have such a strong support system, and I hope you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you.
Now I’m getting weepy again, so I think it’s time to sign off. For those of you who are planning to come visit me in Guatemala, I can’t wait to show you around my new home. For the rest of you, see you in a couple years!
