1:00pm...My replacement starts tomorrow

It's sunny

Gorgeous even

A little hot, but bearable.

I walked to the new Millennium Park at lunch

Stared at some photographs of families around the world

Aside from the fact that I was blinded by the blazing sun because

I forgot my sun glasses at home

It was quite interesting

I did, however, almost get accosted by the giant gleaming jelly bean

I was afraid

3:42pm...I'm tired because I had crazy work related dreams last night

I am excited but can't even imagine what day to day life will be like

without my monotonous regime

Much better I suspect

Not so many groaning mornings of not wanting to get out of bed

I'm happy....I just wrote that in an email to an old high school friend

She was amazed. Many people in my life thought they might never hear me say that.

It is amazing how things change....for the better.

Seven days to freedom. Maybe my poetry will be less inane when my brain isn't being turned to mush for eight hours a day. One can only hope...I'm posting this...my thoughts are becoming a blur......One hour, forty minutes.

Vast Expanse

Crystal blue water

I am sitting on the edge

of the Mountain

looking out over a different world.

A smile slowly crosses my lips

as the sun peers out over the horizon

ever so slowly, timidly,

wondering, "should I get up today?"

"But of course," The day beckons.

"Come and bring light upon this planet"

And so the sun moves slowly into view

Smiling down upon the pier, the mountains,

the forests, the animals, the cities.

I yawn.

Look around.

This place is so peaceful

So different from anywhere else I've been.

Now glistening with the day's new sunlight

It looks more pristine than I have ever seen it.

And I cannot wait to see what today will bring.

I have never felt so alive.

Sunrise, Mt. Cadillac.

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a life. I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you should not go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

-Maya Angelou

Happy Friday. T minus 40 days and counting....