The End.

This afternoon, I will drive to MSU for my very last class.
My assignments are all done. I still have to email my last paper. But I'm done. I'm not sure I quite believe it, actually. But this is the end.

Tomorrow, when Ryan is done working, we'll leave for the cabin.

There are piles of clean laundry to be folded, and suitcases that need to be packed. The house needs some serious attention, but the mountain of dirty dishes is gone. The kitchen is actually quite functional now. I've been a little productive, but mostly the girls and I have been playing all morning. Maya figured out how to play most of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the piano today. She was trying last night..and this morning, she got it. Finding that first interval was really hard, she kept guessing and getting frustrated. I'm not sure how she memorized her starting note, or the distance between do and sol, but she's got it down now. It is so fun to watch her working at something with such focus..and then experiencing the delight of realizing her success. It's pretty magical to watch. We've listened to a short Youtube excerpt of Swan Lake again and again. She wants to figure that one out next. That, and Vivaldi's Spring. Sequential learning is just so tedious.



I'll get more laundry/cleaning/packing done tonight and tomorrow.

just like last year...

I am sitting here, typing a paper for school. Well, I should be. I just took a five minute break to make sure that this day does not go completely unnoticed, undocumented, or uncelebrated.
Ryan is in the other room, catching some election results, and trying to stay awake with me. I just got home from class a couple of hours ago.

Throughout the story-time bedtime routine... we've been chatting all evening, little snippets of funny conversations. We can't wait until we can really have conversations. Maybe even a real date.

It's our eighth anniversary today. We're feeling extra romantic and silly with love. And yet, here I sit, typing away on the computer...writing my very last assignment for my Master's degree...preparing to give my very final presentation tomorrow morning in my Research class. I should be a little stressed, since I'm not completely ready yet. But instead, I'm just happy. Calmly contented, knowing that in just two days, it will be officially complete. And in the morning, I may not have slept much, but I'll be ready for my presentation. And I'll have homemade blueberry muffins for my class. I can smell them baking right now.

Next year, we're going to have to celebrate big, to make up for our lame anniversary night dates of recent years. But I'm happier than ever to wake up beside this amazing man who supports and sustains me in more ways than I even know. Our love seems sweeter, richer these days. More fierce and exciting, and at the same time, steadier and more solid.

I am a very lucky girl.

Back to my research paper...