Heading to Jacksonville, and a few extra thoughts...

I'm in the airport right now waiting for my flight home to Jacksonville. Where is Bryan you may ask? He and Berkeley are on the road heading the same way. Only difference is, I'll arrive at noon today and he won't arrive until tomorrow night. Am I a horrible person? No. Bryan is truly excited to be a man on the open road with his dog. He can drive for ten hours straight (I can't make it more the a few hours without needing to go to the bathroom), eat smelly fast food, cruise to whatever music he wants, and enjoy some solitude away from the hubub of city life. It's a win, win for both of us! I'm a little sad that we had 24 hours of quality car time together at our finger tips, but I think we'll both survive and make up for it during our month long hiatus from life in Boston. We have plenty more car rides to enjoy. Destinations: Jacksonville, Destin, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charlotte, then back to the great state of Massachusetts at the end of January. My job teaching Spanish is officially over (I was taking over for someone on maternity leave) and Bryan doesn't start back school until January 24th. We're ready for time with friends, family, and warmer weather.

Even though I've deeply missed the South, I've truly enjoyed our experience in Boston so far. And since we've lived here, I've come to value a few new things that I thought I would share with you. Just some nuggets from life in Beantown.

*Full Service Gas Stations. Before moving to Boston I've avoided full service gas stations at all costs. Why would I need someone to provide a service for me that I'm completely capable of taking care of myself? And then you have to tip, right? Wrong. Not in Boston. There's a completely full service gas station about 100 feet from my door that I pass on the way to work everyday. One day when running on fumes and late for work I pulled in for a quick $10 fill up. I rolled down my window and told the man what I needed. I paid with a credit card and then went to tip in cash and the man looked at me strangely and said, "No, that's not necessary." I insisted, he completely rejected me, and then said "You must not be from around here." Now it's 20 degrees outside whenever it's time to fill up either on my way to or from work and I thoroughly enjoy pulling into my neighborhood gas station and sitting in the warmth and comfort of my car while my new friend happily pumps my gas and sends me on my way. Full Service Gas Stations, bless you.

*My Oversized Plush Robe. A couple years ago I asked Bryan to get me a robe for Christmas. Instead of a cotton robe that's most commonly worn year round in the South, Bryan splurged and got me this super soft, thick, white, plush robe from Brookstone. It was a sweet thought, but whenever I wore it I would start sweating five minutes after putting it on...so needless to say, I never really got a lot of use out of it. Now I wear it every morning, I put it on when I get home from work, and I pretty much live in it on the weekends. Don't you love it when originally disappointing gifts end up being one of your most prized possessions? B, that's meant to be a compliment.

*Bryan Starting Class After Noon. This term Bryan's classes started at either 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., or 3:00 p.m. Oh, and Friday he didn't have class. This is something that I've had a love-hate relationship with. I hated it because when I left for work everyday Bryan was still in bed, snoozing away. I also hated that I uncontrollably feel asleep at 8:00 every night because I had to get up so early and therefore missed all the good T.V. shows, while he never missed a one and I was always playing catch-up on Hulu. I hated that our schedules were the exact opposite and we didn't get to spend much quality time together during the work week.

One reason that I loved this new schedule was because Bryan slowly took on the responsibility of morning Berkeley duty. Normally our deal has been that he takes care of her in the summer and I take her during the school year since I normally get up first and she joins me on my run. Since Bryan has had ample time before class to take her to the park to run sprints or take her on a long run, the tables have slowly turned. She hops up for breakfast when my alarm goes off, but goes happily back to sleep and then expects Bryan to take her out and to get some exercise when he wakes up...which means for the first time in two school years I've been able to enjoy me-time before school. On my runs I can now think, pray, or just take in the quiet of the morning as I run down empty streets instead of worrying about Berkeley pulling me into people's yards or off the sidewalk to chase squirrels and go to the bathroom. For this, I am thankful that Bryan started class everyday after noon.