Soft Launch

I think I'm back. I think I'm ready to be back. I was writing in my personal journal the other day (well, what I should say is I started a personal journal the other day) and forgot how lovely it is to put thoughts to pen. Or screen, in this case.

Much has happened that I cannot recount fully. Thanksgiving in Madison, a whirlwind trip to Santa Barbara to surprise the family for Christmas, and a dreamworld trip to Barcelona and Rome for New Years marked the holidays. Snapshots of dancing unabashed in the Barca apartment, absorbing the monks' organ practice in the Montserrat cathedral, standing in endless lines at Carre Four, waltzing through the streets arm in arm with Vincent, and the most warmly elegant dinner in the flat overlooking Piazza Navona in Rome come to mind. Truly, the most fulfilling possible use of those two weeks of life.

January was marked with the end of an era - certainly for my life, if not the country's. My decision to stay with the Boss until the end and to be the last to walk out the door with dear colleague-friends was important. Anyone who works or has worked in public office can understand this and the rest perhaps cannot.

Inauguration weekend was as historic as promised and perhaps will not be fully realized until time allows for context. I dove head first into it with gusto - standing in nose-numbing weather for U2 and Springsteen's sound checks at the Lincoln and the reflecting pool concert the next day. And for the Swearing-in itself, although the ill-fated "purple gate" was unforgiving and ultimately forfeited for a beer and tv screens of Chinatown's Green Turtle with Meredith, Remy, and Lo.

Ah, but that was to be twice redeemed by the best seat - or press stand, shall I say - of the night at the first inaugural Neighborhood Ball where the President and his Lady gave their first dance away to Beyonce's "At Last." And Denzel and Mariah and Faith and Mary J and Shakira and Queen Latifah and Vanessa Williams and Alicia Keys and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jay-Z and Sting and Stevie. To name a few.

The Staff Ball followed on the next night despite utter exhaustion from the previous days. And to be a part of it all, for me, was like being a fly on the wall to someone else's party. But I showed up, listened, and tried to laugh... like I always try to do... and I am so glad I did. Because I was, ultimately, a most humbled beneficiary.

I left town having not grown tired of the Capitol Dome in my rearview mirror and having not lost the swell of pride come over me when writing "Washington, DC" as my return address. And that to me is a wonderful testament of my feelings towards the time and friends I left behind.

The long way home included stops in Buffalo, Chicago, Lincoln, and Denver but ultimately landed me in Tahoe for a few weeks of quiet and many, many naps.

March, April, and May passed without much incident except for the runnings of my mind and the wonderings of what to do next.

So in following the tone of this expose, I should announce that I have started on a new path towards getting my Masters of Science in Nursing and becoming a Nurse Practitioner. The lawyers of the world all seem miserable and the corporate world seems self-satisfying and I just don't think I like either of those options for myself. When asked, I haven't quite made the leap from "I am thinking of being a nurse practitioner" to "I am becoming a nurse practitioner" but now that I am spending my days learning about simple squamous epithelium and the histology of the nervous system, I'd say I am at least crawling towards that leap.

Thank you, dear friends, for your love and prayers in these months. Though so much is still unspeakable, thank you.