Life in the Middle

I love this middle stage that I am in. Sometimes my life, really it's the people in my life, just make me laugh. It is so random and filled with so many people experiencing complete opposites.

I have friends subleasing apartments and others buying their first home.

Friends stressed over finals week and others stressed that it's the beginning of the work week.

I can look at one friends profile pictures and see how wild their weekend was and then look at another profile and read her tips learned for breastfeeding her newborn son!

I have friends who seem a million miles from ever settling down and getting married (no I do not consider myself in this group) and friends who I can not believe have been married for a few years.

I guess it will be a few more years before we hit the just about everyone is married and having babies age. For now I will keep trying to balance between the two extremes.

Judgement At Last

After way to much anxiety this process is almost over! I have been insanely checking my email inbox and my mailbox everyday, sometimes twice or three times a day, since I knew all my graduate schools would be sending out there decisions. Of course my mailbox has been overflowing with junk mail now that I just want letters or very thick packages from multiple universities. And checking my email has resulted in such stomach cramps it could induce ulcers. Yet I have survived judgement and can report:

I have officially been accepted at both Brandeis University in Boston and Tulane University in New Orleans! Yeah, I am extremely excited since these were my first two choices.

I now get the overwhelming task of trying to figure out which one is the right school for me. There are so many factors weighing in that I may just have to write my pros and cons list for each school or play eenie meenie miney moe (is that really the spelling?). I was not expecting this option and have no idea how people make the choice of where to move, which school is right and who to lay the potential of their future and career on. I even posted this announcement of facebook and asked my friends to weigh in with their opinions since I am at such a loss. Here are a few responses I've received thus far:

*Boston - you've spent you whole life in sunshine and heat - mix it up a bit! Plus I am close! :-)

*Both places have annoying local accents...But Boston can't touch New Orleans southern hospitality plus you can help rebuild nola right!!!

*Go to Boston so I can visit :)

With all this wonderful advice I am still at square one! We shall see.

Little Travel Buddies

I had one of the most "interesting" flights home on Tuesday. Having a number of friends who have small children and knowing that it must be extremely difficult to travel, let alone fly, with them, I always try to be nice to families on a plane. I give them a nice smile when waiting at the gate or boarding the plane and I resist the urge to turn around and stare when their kid is screaming at the top of its lungs. My ears hurt from the pressure change sometimes and I get antsy sitting for hours in that tiny seat too. So I can only imagine what these kids are enduring, especially the small babies who have no idea what's happening.

This last flight however completely tested my will to be nice or understanding. It even tested my restraint from trying to squeeze myself out of my window. There was not one baby on my flight, not even two, but three babies and two toddlers on this flight! It was insanity 50,000 feet in the air. I knew it would be a rough flight as I watched one toddler completely dominate his parents outside of the gate. These people had no control and that kid was a little ball of destruction. I just knew keeping him in his seat would be an interesting task to watch. What I was not prepared for was the baby who was hollering as we boarded the plane. It's one thing to scream as we take of and land or even to get fussy mid-flight. But this baby was hollering in all known vocal ranges before half the plane was filled.

I was then blessed with the presence of the third baby directly behind me! Luckily the airline made sure to spread each family throughout the plane. So this little guy and his dad sat behind me while mom was further back on the plane. It became very obvious who normally watched junior as dad had no idea what he was doing. I resisted the urge to offer to help even though I watched a flight attendant hold and slightly calm screaming baby # 1 in the front of the plane, while she poured drinks one handed!

Miraculously, we all survived the flight and surprisingly everyone kept calm even though there were times of quiet murmuring. I think headphones were the most appreciated item on that flight. And as I de-boarded the plane with a small migraine I was grateful that I do not have to worry about traveling with my own children for quite some time. I will just sympathize with all the parents out their.