August 9

Abby went to work this morning —her first day at the college post office— so I did what I do and went to a new-to-me Mother Ship and (tada) a new-to-me Target. She texted me at around 11:30 to say that there wasn’t as much to do as initially anticipated, so she got off work and hung out in her dorm room until I got back into town. She’s still not feeling so hot, so we stopped at Sonic so she could get a slush to soothe her throat and then returned to the hotel to chill for a few hours.

But the big event of the day was dinner at Culver’s with her girlfriends, three of whom will be her suitemates this year. I really enjoyed spending some time with Ashley, Meredith, Michaela, and Laura, and I understand why Abby loves each of them as much as she does. (And I extra-love how Meredith comically included the absent Anna in their group photo. I just about snorted my Diet Coke when I saw it.) It does my heart good to know that they’re around to offer her support, friendship, and copious laughter as she starts the college sophomore chapter of her story.