The End

Today is Sunday, Day 1 of the last week. It's hard to believe it's the end. This summer has flown by, and I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. I've spent all summer with my staff here, and I don't know what I'm going to do without the little things like Matt sticking his finger in the air and going “Pew pew!” every time I say “Shoot!”, or Gus filming everything, or Miranda's general skittishness and hilarity. Everyone here is full of little quirks that I love so much, and I'm going to miss them all dearly. On the other hand, I miss my friends at home quite dearly as well, and I am ready to see them. I'm listening to a mix cd right now that was made for me by my friend Kat before I left, and I got a letter Friday from my dear Andie that made my day but also made me miss her even more that I already did. I'm ready to be home, but at the same time I'm not looking forward to it. Even though we haven't left the country, going home from Teameffort is always accompanied by a major culture shock that I am not looking forward to. I don't remember how to move in a world where I'm not a camp counselor, where I am not serving others 24/7 and am not constantly being barraged by requests for toilet paper and questions about when and where to buy t-shirts. However, now that I think about it, just because I leave Teameffort doesn't mean I should stop serving 24/7, I just won't constantly be getting toilet paper for people. It really is awkward going home now. I am so far removed here from the world of consumerism and materialism that just eating at a packed and swanky P.F. Changs last night was a little uncomfortable for me. I'm not looking forward to the shock of going home.

I won't be home for long though. We're leaving Myrtle Beach on Saturday (6 days!), but we're making some surprise overnight stop somewhere, which I'm quite excited about but it means we won't be getting back to TE headquarters in Gainesville until Sunday. We'll be getting there early in the afternoon and I'll have to stick around there for a little while to help unload everything, so I won't actually be getting home until late afternoon Sunday, only to turn around and leave again the same time the next day. About 70 Teameffort staff members are going on a mission trip to Puerto Rico, and we're leaving so early on Tuesday that they won't tell us how early we're leaving yet, so I'm going to spend the night with everybody else in Gainesville on Monday so I don't have to worry about meeting them in the morning. I also want to get there in time for dinner, because Monday night the staff has a big dinner where everyone else their craziest summer stories, and I want to be there to spend a little time with my Teameffort family from other camps, which means I'll only be home for about 24 hours before turning around and leaving again. We'll be spending 4 days in Puerto Rico, then returning home late Saturday night. Our flight gets in around 10 I think, which gives me about 12 hours to unpack and do laundry, because I move into my dorm Sunday afternoon. Oh yeah. I'll be home for about a day and a half total, and with so much to do in so little time I won't have time to see many people before I leave, which is sad but I'm already coming to terms with it. It is what it is, and my life is a whirlwind. I'm excited though. It's going to be very fun. It's hard to believe that 2 weeks from now I'll be in my dorm and my new school! Wow. Life is crazy.