Happiness...

"...is a warm gun (bang, bang, shoot shoot)..." Just kidding. But I am happy. This semester is very chill...although I'm miserable when I'm not working and have nothing planned...and 90% of the time, I just want to get up and drive far away from here. But mostly, I am happy. I am happy and I am blessed and I am learning everyday.
     Waitressing at Ruby Tuesday is better than I could have imagined. When I was merely a customer, I thought it was a slow location and I wouldn't make many tips. As a server though, I always have my hands full, and I am meeting some of the most interesting and admirable people that I work with. I also have always been a people-person, and I've learned that the slower the restaurant may be, the more time I have to interact and provide quality, memorable service...resulting in tips I wouldn't get otherwise. I love the management and my coworkers and the bustle of the work. I love surprising my coworkers constantly when people I know come in. I feel like I am always talking and catching up with customers I know - teachers, neighbors, people I used to babysit or pet-sit for, members of my church, friends, family...I love seeing people I know. And I love feeling so connected, so in place with everyone and everything I've grown up with and alongside. It's comforting.
     Lifeguarding, on the other hand, is now drawing to an end. The approaching weekend will be the last weekend the pool is open, and I am working a nine hour shift on Saturday. Oddly enough, my love of that job has come to revolve around the children that go to the pool. Precious, darling little Caroline, fun-loving Bella and Anna, goofy Garrett and tiny, pot-bellied Alex, the triplets, crazy Gavin and sweet Chloe, precocious Elle, sly Raegan, chubby Charlie, silly Nathalie, and all of the other children. They are all so dear to my heart, and I'm sad that the summer is coming to a close. I will miss them all until next year, although I am hoping my name will spread as a reliable babysitter, because I have already begun babysitting Bella and Anna. :)
     I have lots to look forward to as well. On October 2, I'll be driving to Macon to see Corey Smith in concert and then will drive an additional two hours to stay at GA Southern for two nights. On October 6, I'm excited about the Drake concert in ATL. I'll probably be around local bars for local music like Clay Coley at Taco Mac as well. In addition, there are Raider meets to attend, festivals at Stone Mountain, and hopefully a substitute teaching workshop on October 1 (I just got a call today.)! Slowly but surely, I am crossing names off the list of friends I need to catch up with - people I missed all summer while I was grounded. I'm catching my balance, get reoriented and refocused, and striding forward.
     Still though, I want out. This is my favorite season. Fall excites me and it awakens my wandering spirit more so than any other time of year. I feel the chilly breeze and see the sun shining on the open road, and my heart YEARNS to get out. I literally get sick to my stomach at times for the pure longing for adventure. Cliche? Maybe a little. But I swear I relate myself to pioneers...there's a piece of me within never wanting to sit still, never wanting to settle, always wanting to push into the next area of untamed wilderness, going where I have never yet even dreamt of. I'll start small...I want to drive back up to Myrtle & camp on the beach. Then I want to drive, then hike, to Cali. I want to go everywhere and meet everyone and see everything. I want to be everything I can be (No Army pun intended). I want to snowboard in Utah and sit in hot springs in Colorado and explore the Grand Canyon. I want to ride a donkey and a camel and a dolphin and a whale. I want to scuba dive and spleunk and sleep under redwoods. I want freedom and I want "the unexamined life" (from Wicked).