... this works on two levels for me this week.
Soon, very, very soon (say about 26 hours from now) I will have finished my current MBA class. The end of a 10 week class, which is the 4th class of the year, in the second year of the program. At midnight tomorrow I will have finished my 8th class in the MBA program, and will officially be halfway through. Seven more to go. I am greatly looking forward to the month off, especially since it promises a few exciting opportunities. I am also looking forward to (a) returning phone calls when people call, (b) watching some TV on occassion, (c) spending some time outside (need to work on my tan), (d) having fun and relaxing weekends (and nights after work), and (e) all of the above! Actually, I'm also super excited for my friend Kristen's wedding in August. So many of my best friends from college will be in the area and I have an entire week off from work. I'm also excited to be part of her big day, and help with all those last minute details and tasks that will inevitably pop up - not to mention a week off from work!
The other "end" in my life right now has to do with my parents. They are selling their house. They close on Friday on the house that they/we have lived in for 21 years. Isn't that crazy? I remember when we moved in. I was down yesterday offering my very small amount of assistance with the move. It's crazy, they are going into an apartment (actually, the same apartment complex they lived in when I was born) and most of their stuff is going into storage. They are in the extremely long process of building a house, but fingers crossed they could be in early in the new year. It was strange to see the house so empty (most of the items to live in storage are already there) and it was weird to see all the rooms as they are now (which is different than when I lived there, too). My brother and I took a very brief walk in the woods behind the house where we used to play as kids, and gave each other under-doggies on the tire swing. That was more fun when we were kids, I almost threw up yesterday (probably because he's taller now than when he was 10, so I went higher). I can tell my parents are very sad to be leaving, and I know it would be easier if they had a new home to go into, instead of a temporary residence. It feels ok to me because the family that's buying the place LOVE it, and I know it will become the home to them that it was to us. Their two young girls will take their prom photos in front of the flowering bush in the front yard, they'll almost push each other into the big tree on the tire swing, they'll pull the clay out of the back creek, they'll have sleep overs with their girlfriends in the basement. My parents are giving them the incredible gift of a loving home, not just a house, and I know they can feel it. So it makes saying good-bye ok.