New Beginnings

Today is a day for new beginnings. Not only is it the first day of Spring, but the first day of the rest of my life beyond grad school. It's kind of weird to think that I'm a "Master" now. A master of what, I'm not sure, but that's what they tell me. I think I now feel less mastery of any topic than I've ever felt before, mostly because of the trite, yet true observation that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. It's funny that after all that work, all I really have to show for it is a shiny piece of paper with my name and Stanford written on it. Luckily, I get to keep all my experiences too, or it probably wouldn't seem worth it.

I'm excited to break out of academia and learn other things, of an entirely different nature, on my own- even if it may sometimes be 'the hard way'. Don't get me wrong, I'm particularly excited about Jay's permanent academia connections so that I can still maintain all the benefits of that kind of lifestyle- libraries, free gym, concerts and speakers that come to you, perfectly manicured lawns, randomly placed and unexplainable sculptures... I'm just excited to embark on my own new beginnings. Probably the next big, most exciting one being our new family.

Yep, I think there is no more fitting day, than the start of Spring- the season of new life- to finally come out of my metaphorical closet and own up to the new beginning I've been carrying in my belly for 3 months now. :) Plus, I feel like I'm starting to pooch out a bit (at least the well-trained eye would notice) and I'll only be able to get away with our little, tiny secret for so much longer. This Saturday will be the official start to it's second trimester, and our new life in Utah. So much change! So exciting!

On a related note, but not quite so serious, I think I finally really understand what those people were talking about when they made us sing that ever-popular-primary-favorite: Popcorn Popping on an Apricot Tree. There are trees like this all over-campus, and very heavily where I live. Sometimes I look at them and just want to take an armful and make a treat :) Not to mention, they do smell kinda sweet.