As great as the comfort of an old sweatshirt, or the understanding between old friends, or the wisdom from an older relative...there is just something amazing about starting anew! New places, new friends, new clothes, new cars. All these are things to which we rightfully look forward.
This week has been a "new" week for me. After weeks and months of borderline (though not clinical) depression and loneliness due to both deployment, transitioning out of the Navy, and lacking in the friend department, things seem to be looking up...and it's about time! This week I've smiled more than I can remember. I've stayed busy and have actually truthfully told people (i.e. my mother), "I'm sorry I can't do that; I have plans." And I'm thrilled to have that back in my life!!
Sunday, I took my little brother to breakfast after Mass. My parents had gone to the earlier service since Dad was leaving on a business trip, and Jake and I both showed up at the later Mass, not knowing that the other would be there (I overslept and missed the 8:00 Mass I usually attend; Jake was in the Outer Banks with friends and didn't get back early enough to go with Mom and Dad). Although we didn't see each other and so didn't sit together, we met up afterwords and went to breakfast. It isn't often I get to do something alone with my little brother, and now that he's a junior in high school, it seems he's really matured. I find myself telling him things that are bothering me and asking his advice. It's amazing, yet hard to believe that this young man who is so sure of himself is the same person whose diapers I changed not so long ago!
Monday, I enjoyed the first evening of Norfolk's Restaurant Week with a good friend. I don't know her through Notre Dame (although her brother was in ROTC there with me) and I don't know her through the Navy. The connection with her brother is merely a coincidence as Ann Marie and I met at a church function. One of only a handful of church functions I've attended, which makes the whole thing even more amazing. I'm so thankful we hit it off right away and have remained friends after that random Young Adults Pizza Party a year ago! It's refreshing to have a friend that you don't know through school or work or your spouse! Added to that is the fact that Ann Marie is a Registered Nurse, so we often chit chat about my trials and tribulations as I muddle through school!!!
Wednesday, I went out to dinner with some other new friends. One I met through her husband, who was my shipmate on NORMANDY. The other is another NORMANDY wife, whose husband checked onboard after I'd transferred. The three of us are young wives, ranging between seven months and two years of marriage. We all have a connection to NORMANDY, and Adri (whose husband I served with) is also a Riverine wife now, like me, as her husband is attached to the Squadron that will relieve Patrick's. We'd originally planned to get together for dinner and a movie, but we were chatting and laughing so much that we boycotted the movie for Cold Stone instead (not that I'm complaining, mind you!). It was so nice to share new marriage and Navy wife stories with two other women, comparing the ups and downs of married life and finding balance within our marriages. I'm so happy that I am forging new friendships with people who share those bonds with me and who understand the challenges I'm experiencing. After four hours of much needed girl talk, I was sad when we all had to leave, but excited for future Girls' Nights and nurturing these friendships that I'm positive will last well past our husbands' careers!
Finally, tonight I got to experience another sort of new! Tonight, during the third lab session of my evening Anatomy class, I got to cut open a cadaver. For those of you who know me, I have a strange fascination with dissections and you know that being forced to wear surgical gloves has harbored marked dissatisfaction for me in the past. I've never felt the need to "go vegetarian" after dissections; honestly, they make me crave a juicy steak. I remember in AP Biology in the 11th grade that my lab partners were the stars of the football and lacrosse teams; they were both very nearly sick when I nonchalantly lopped off the ears of the rabbit we were dissecting. Anyway... Tonight I got to remove skin, peel back pectoralis muscle tissue, and expose ribs and lungs. Many of my classmates asked the teacher to see the body prior to class so they could prepare themselves. I merely asked, "When can I get started?" It was thrilling. It was so thrilling, in fact, that I couldn't wait for class to be over to call my family and tell them what I'd done! I was ecstatic that my older brother was excited for me and jealous that he hadn't gotten to do something so cool. I was elated to have a scalpel in my hands, not because I was channeling my inner Merideth Grey, but because it felt familiar and right. I know that I was meant to be in the medical field. I'm absolutely thrilled that the opportunity to fulfill this dream (though slightly altered from my original dream of becoming a doctor) has arisen. I'm thrilled that my husband is able to take up my slack so I can realize this dream.
I'm just thrilled. New friends, new class, new opportunities, new dreams, new optimism... I couldn't ask for more!
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