and the adventure begins...

It took me the entirety of a 7-mile run to come up with the title for this... (can't start a blog without one, right?) And although I'm pretty sure I said I'd never be a "blogger" (or maybe I'm just thinking of when Paige told me never to date a guy with a blog??), I thought this would be the best way to keep in touch with family, friends and classmates this next year.  So-- this is my journey through my final year of grad school, through internships that will take me across the Midwest, to Africa, and finally to the Pacific Northwest, as my career as a physical therapist begins to take shape. I'll be traveling, helping, healing, learning, and exploring my way into my career- this is a(nna).mess in the making.

But first-- the weekend before my first internship in Rockford, IL was the Lerner family reunion at Spruce Haven. Not the warm and sunny weather I was hoping for, but nonetheless it was exciting to catch up with relatives from (ready for this list?!) Minnesota, Pennsylvania (most recently via Paris), Illinois, California, Ohio, Florida and Venezuela. I fell in love with paddleboarding, and even put my PT skills to use taking care of a few sprained wrists and ankles that resulted from a little too much fun in the sun.

I hit the road on Sunday morning after lots of goodbyes that took me right back to freshman year of college, when my parents dropped me off in Maine-- except that this time I'm exploring a new state all on my own, without roommates and without a meal plan. I made it from Cable to Rockford-- 370 miles-- in under 6 hours (that's a beautiful 22 mpg, Dad!). The traffic wasn't ideal and the landscape through the heart of Wisconsin certainly wasn't exciting, but I couldn't complain-- with my windows open, rocking to lots of awesome new music (courtesy of Ben), I even worked on my sunroof tan to make up for the lack of sun time at the cabin. And it helped to think that I was driving a fraction of the distance Layla had to drive to TX!

Mine's the one on the right!

I'm thrilled with my new living situation-- I'm staying in a townhouse owned by one of the PTs at the clinic I'll be interning at who was transferred to another clinic and has yet to sell it. With a gigantic living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice-sized kitchen and laundry room, and even a fireplace, balcony and garage, I have more space than I know what to do with.  

 

And lucky me-- while most of my classmates start in the clinic tomorrow, I get until Tuesday to get acquainted with the area.  More tomorrow (when I get my own internet and don't have to go off in search of Starbucks for Wifi-- which, for better or for worse, is 1 mile away)... Finally-- I'd just like to say how relieved I am now that I can cheer for the Blackhawks without feeling like I'm betraying the Wild. Perf!

P.S. I miss this guy already...