Vacation

The past two weeks have been my "summer." I had no school and no work. It's been a year since that has happened for more than a week. With that in mind, it makes sense that sometimes I wondered what to do with myself. I spent a week in Iowa with my parents and enjoyed some bike rides in the prairie winds. It took a bit for me to regain an efficient and smooth pedal stroke with my clip-on shoes. The best part of biking on the prairie is going 20 mph on the way home with the wind at my back. I've also been enjoying reading some books that I can actually hold while lying on the couch. I've read some Raymond Chandler and Charles Dickens.

As usual, I got in on some small town farming culture. The local co-op elevator association that serves 5 area towns provided a free meal in honor of their new 16,000 ton fertilizer plant. After a meal of pork chops, cheesy potatoes, baked beans and fruit, we were given a tour by one of my cousins who happens to be a board member. He gave us all the statistics regarding how many tons the different bins could hold and explained how a farmer's fertilizer order can be mixed to order and weighed before being put into the truck.

After my return to Minneapolis, a friend and I took an overnight camping trip near Cannon Falls. Bri is rather adventuresome and organizes a winter camping trip every year. I have always had school and work as an excuse for not going but in August I don't have to worry about being cold, especially not with Bri's tent that is made for winter camping. Ventilation is not its strong suite. However it did keep us dry during the afternoon storm. We ignored the deputy's invitation to go to the "concrete building at the beach" and stayed in the tent. Though we heard the constant roll of thunder it didn't get very close. We were glad when the rain stopped and we were able to get some fresh air. We slept well with our heads near the screen door and I actually needed a sheet by morning. After the sun burned through the clouds and it warmed up a bit we kayaked 8 miles on the Cannon River. It was a peaceful few hours with enough gentle rapids to keep things interesting and at times turn us around so we were heading downstream backwards.

This week I head back to work and I need to take care of some odds and ends before classes start again in a week. A friend commented today that I looked like I'd spent some time out in the sun. I've enjoyed being away from my desk while I could.

Occupational balance

Last Thursday around 1:00 I left campus wondering what to do next. After 15 weeks of living by due dates and the weekly rhythm of class it felt a little strange to have nothing that had to be done before I could go to bed. As an occupational therapy student I'm learning to "promote successful participation in everyday occupations, allowing people to remain engaged and to re-engage in meaningful, contributory roles." The irony is that as a student, about all I do is homework, sleep, eat, and work 10 hours a week. That isn't a very balanced life. Some regular exercise, socializing, and having time to help people would make it a more rounded picture. My housemate would probably appreciate it if I did more of the domestic tasks especially cleaning. I make it through by remembering that this is temporary and, with only one semester left, the light is at the end of the tunnel. In the meantime, I have three weeks to be completely unbalanced in the other direction. No homework and two weeks of vacation from work means I have time to spend with family and friends!

Last weekend my 10 year-old niece, Elizabeth, came to help me break out of the study mode. On Friday we went shopping (yes, for her I will brave the Mall of America) and visited the Mill Museum that chronicles the years when Minneapolis was the city that ground more flour than any other place in the world. By then I was exhausted and Aunt Alice had to have a nap. We finished the day with sweet corn from the farm and grilled brats followed by a lively game of Dutch Blitz with my housemate. Saturday morning we headed out for a bike ride around Lake of the Isles. After a shower, we headed to the big library downtown that is "4 stories tall!" Two book lovers should be able to find something good to read there. It was the first time I had been in the children's section. That afternoon and evening we attended a wedding. Sunday after church we spent the rest of the day with two different families from church. One had us over for dinner and Elizabeth played with their daughter and niece who are about her age. From there we headed east of St. Paul to ride horses. That adventure was followed up by Sebastian Joe's ice cream. There's nothing better than a kid to bring some perspective and balance back into one's life.