November 1

Wow, November already! And beyond that, wow, Abby will be 18 in two days!

I awoke this morning to very clear, very sunny skies, so much so that the stream of light that invaded my hotel room when I pulled open a section of the blinds was, well, blinding. 

After I wiped away the sleep and recovered from the brightness-induced shock, I ventured out, bound for a store that shall remain nameless. (More birthday shopping so I have to keep mum!) I stopped at a different Mother Ship location today. This particular store was significantly busier than the one I visited yesterday, so I sat down at a table next to the lovely woman I'm pictured with in the upper left-hand corner of my collage. As I sipped at my blonde Americano, I asked Brenda how her day was going and bam, she was off to the races. She told me about her beautiful daughter who just started dating a nice man and about her son and about how she hopes to move to Vermont in order to help plant a church. I could tangibly feel the Holy Spirit at work in her, and listening to her go on and on about how shy she is about sharing the Gospel made me smile so, so hard (because sister is NOT shy!). Anyway, when she found out I have a college student, she scribbled out a note with her phone number and information about a nearby church service and gave it to me. And as she looked at her watch and realized the friend she was supposed to meet was half an hour late, she proclaimed that we were meant to meet this morning. And I think she was right.

While we were chatting, Abby texted to let me know that her afternoon class had been canceled and that she was hungry, so being the intelligent mom I am, I knew what that meant, so I drove over to her dorm, picked her up, and off we went to fulfil her dreams of a Chipotle lunch. And then we hit up Target and Walmart (where she showed off her high-kick talents in the cars aisle) and the Mother Ship. (Two visits in one day for me!) Then we went off in search of a Bath and Body Works for a repeat of yesterday's jolt of seasonal cheer, but were unable to find the one that my nav insisted was there. So instead of that, we wandered around inside the smallest shopping mall I think I've ever seen, where Abby found a bear a tiny, tiny head. 

Then I dropped her off at her dorm to do some homework while I finished up some shopping --I was so engrossed in my conversation with Brenda that I never did go to the unnamed store this morning-- and went back to the hotel. And finally, I went back to campus and met up with Abby and her friends Michaela and Anna for dinner at the dining hall (which, for some reason, is called Saga. I have no idea why. Neither does Abby. It's actual name is something entirely different). It was my first time meeting Anna and I found both of them to be very sweet, friendly girls. I'm glad that they all found each other! Anyway, they all took off for swing dancing and I came back to the hotel. (Funny note on the swing though: tonight was lift certification night, which meant that had to sign a piece of paper releasing liability for injury. I teased Abby that if she needed mummy to sign for her since she's not an adult yet, to let me know. And then a little later, while I was in a grocery store, I got a succession of texts from her asking me to please give her permission so she could be certified. I laughed. A lot. And then I felt a little reflective over it, since as she noted, it's probably the last time I'll have to give her permission to do anything. Sobering, in a way. But also good to see her transition to adulthood. So good.)

Anyway now I'm back in the hotel, looking at the presents on the extra bed, thinking that I need to wrap them while simultaneously groaning over how much I don't like wrapping gifts. (Usually I'd just have Abby take on the task but I don't think that would work this time.) I'm tired, but I feel energized. I'm so thankful that it was possible for me to take this extra time here in Wheaton to hang out with my girl and to meet some of her friends.