Etc.

Well, another month has come and gone.  Because of weather here on the rock (crosswinds) and weather in New England, and then weather in the Midwest, I didn’t actually arrive in GB’s arms until 4 days after I was supposed to.  However, endless days in an airport before Christmas seem like a distant memory now…

GB and I had an incredible week at a cabin up North in Minnesota.  It was just us and the dogs and life was as it should be.  We watched movies, went XC skiing, visited Duluth, bought groceries, cooked together, and hiked the dogs together like we used to before we ended up in separate countries.  We also did all the other pieces of a relationship which tend to be less fun – talking about money, emotions, struggles – but even these were a gift since we get them so rarely.

Prior to going to the cabin we had Christmas with GB’s family.  Since they are six of my favorite six people in the world, we had a blast.  Of course my new nephew was there in his gorgeous little Christmas pj’s and it really was fun to hang out as a family which we haven’t done since last Christmas.

Now that my grad school application is in all I can do is wait and pray.  I’m trying not to think about it since it could be a good long while before I hear back.  For anyone going to grad school there’s a lot relying on admission.  For me, my ability to live with my dogs and partner are on the table.  High stakes, for sure.

I’ll confess that the water temperature is down to 60 and I have been avoiding swimming this week.  I know it’s going to be cold and since I started this ridiculous no-wetsuit challenge, I feel like I need to keep going with it.  I do recognize however, that not swimming at all does NOT count as completing the challenge!  I think tomorrow I’m going to run before work but maybe I’ll take the plunge on Saturday morning.