Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Hurricane Bertha hit Philly..... & I got a new room!

How fitting and ironic, considering our own Bertha will be here in a couple of weeks. We're all really excited about seeing her again, going out to dinner with her, and drowning her will all of the tales that we've already had.
We just experienced our first real thunderstorm in Philly, and it was awesome! It was so cool to see the lightening strike so close to the windows of my hotel and to then here to thunderous vooms crack the dead silence that lingers right after the lightning. It poured for about 20 minutes and then it was done! After the big, dark cloud of doom went over us, the sun started to slowly peek through again.
Here are some pics of the before and after scenes from the storm.

But better than anything thus far, Debbie Haynie and Charles Ramsey worked their butts off to get me a more livable room and it is absolutely amazing!!! It's what I had only dreamed of. It has a separate little area with a kitchen-type area that has a microwave, fridge, and sink!! Finally, a place where I can actually warm up food, make oatmeal, store yogurt, and make my own coffee! I'm still hoping to not gain 10 pounds while I'm here, so I'm really trying to stay and eat healthy!
Plus, there's a great sitting area where I can work on a computer or on my laptop because there's a way better internet connection. I'm even uploading photos as I type this. I am beyond ecstatic with this mini-"home" that I was so fortunate to get. It really makes my stay here for a month so much more livable and "normal". I really feel at home now. It's just super comfy and homey, instead of just being in a room with a single bed for a whole month. I LOVE THIS ROOM!!!

I also checked in with the girls today and they are all super duper busy. Cynthia and Susan had their first journal club meeting yesterday, Courtney has her first one today, and all of the girls will have their second journal club meeting tomorrow. They are required to meet twice a week aside from their regular 9-4:30pm classes. They're all pooped from doing so much homework plus attending their journal club meetings. I asked them to go out for ice cream tonight but they all had crazy schedules that didn't allow us to meet together at a normal time.
The girls all told me that they are doing really well, meeting many new people within their program, but busy with really hard bio-med work. They also basically told me to not worry so much and that they all know that they can call me whenever! I guess that made me feel a little bit better but I sure do feel like I'm an anxious parent who really wants to see her kids! Cynthia said that yesterday was "cool" because they didn't hear from me once. That was my promise to them the day before. And, Cynthia and Courtney both laughed when I told them that I missed them! I now they're doing great but I also understand that they want to feel "independent" and like I'm not always checking in on them, especially because no other students in the program have a parent, much less a chaperone, checking in on them or talking to Ed Healy, the Discovery Program lead, about how their girls are doing. So, I'm walking a fine line with the girls and my feeling comfortable with giving them their independence, yet feeling this nagging worry inside of me because I don't know what they're up to every moment of the day. Well, I kinda do because I know exactly where their classes are and what they're doing.

2 comments:

Don Gosney said...

My goodness, Patty--your living accommodations sure look a lot better than where I live. I'm glad that they found you something more suitable to a long stay. You'll have to go into more detail about your old place either in person or via email.

Sounds like you're right on top of your charges watching out for them while providing them the freedom they need to grow.

Your headline was deceptive--I thought that Bertha had already come into town and was tearing things up like a hurricane. I'm glad I read further.

Thanks for including the photos--especially of your new place.

Madeline Kronenberg said...

Nice place you have there!!! I'm so glad the move happened for you.

Thanks so much for the pics and the post.

The girls sound terrific -- keep up the good work and let us know if you get connected with Johnny Irizarry.