Finished my last day of work with my Auntie Cathleen this morning--my Macbook has been purchased, boxes sent and received. Today, I took in my winter wools for cleaning and will be making a stop at Countryman's Jewelers to have some jewelry repaired. Many small chores still anticipate my doing before I leave--mending, sorting, organizing, packing, typing, and printing--but for now I am on hold at an enormous precipice. My own Mr. Herndon arrives tomorrow evening, just before my going-away party. I have a surprise for him, which I have not yet finished. It is odd to think that this is my last week in Modesto.

My whole life I have seen high school as but a means by which to go to college, and college as just a means by which to get a job. Somehow, though, in this moment, it seems bigger than that.