1. Tonight's long and very lovely conversation with my good friend Viola. We went to college together, and she is what Anne of Green Gables always called a kindred spirit. Any time we talk, we just pick up where we last were. The last time I saw Viola was last November in Spain, and we haven't had any contact since. We had a fabulous night talking about love, our futures, and what we want out of the world. It's good to know that I'm not the only one at this strange crossroads of kind of knowing what I want but not quite knowing how to put it into action. Viola is an expat in Spain (tho she is living in the US for the next 3 months for some sort of tax something or other), and she is also trying to figure out how exactly to put her skills into action.
2. Today's Dutch oven cooking class that I helped with. I've been working extra at work in order to learn more about putting on public programs. We learned how to cook outdoors with charcoal and Dutch ovens, and it was great fun. Fabulous food too! I've got pictures. I meant to upload them, but I ended up calling Viola instead.
3. All the cool critters I'm seeing. Today, I saw a little toad while walking out to my bike. Then, while biking home, I saw a doe and two large fawns. I was able to get pretty close on my bike (moving very very slowly) before they bolted.
4. The prairie, working at a nature center, learning about trees, and all the other cool stuff. How so very fulfilled I feel. How thinking about my life now makes me want to cry, but the tears are all tears of joy because I am so profoundly happy that my dream job exists and that I have it. It may not pay as much as I like, but that's okay with me. I'm just happy to be outside, enjoying nature, and teaching people about nature. It is what I have always wanted to do. I love teaching and translating "difficult" and "complex" subjects into something anyone can understand.
Work keeps me really busy. I've got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow to be ready for this next week. I'm taking on a lot of responsibility. But it is still awesome, and I wouldn't trade this for the world.