T-Minus One Day

One more day until I leave, but I'm already on vacation. I'm out of the routine now, as I go through my house cleaning and organizing before it's time to catch the bus downtown so I can run some errands. I already feel like I can relax a bit and truly thing about what's about to happen.

I'll be in England for a full week to see my son. I've not been over in four and a half years, and this is a chance to see what his life is like. I love being in England, and I plan to write a lot about the experience, either on this blog or in one of my notebooks. I did so back on previous trips, and I plan to do so now.

Ever since I left Court Square Tavern, I have been writing a lot more, mostly freehand while sitting at bars. Part of what I write is observation about what's around me. I also write out my journeys on the bus, trying to capture a little bit about the mundane to sharpen my skills a bit.

My son is 8 now, and is only about 5 inches shorter than me. I've not seen him since August, and I am going to see him for the very first time at the Cricket Club, where he'll be at some sort of a camp. I'm staying at a place in the next town over, in a pub on a canal. I've not stayed at a pub since I was 11 or 12 but now I'm about to, and it's going to be fantastic to have all of these experiences back there.

I'm not packed yet. Not even close. I've put a few things in piles and I figure I will get to all of that in the near future, perhaps before tomorrow. I have my passport collected. I have most of my important essentials ready to go, including the power adapter.

I've put the £1 and £2 coins in my pocket and they're mixing nicely with their American cousins. I love the magical moment where currency suddenly starts working. It's such an odd feeling when I'm in England and American money looks odd, smaller next to the British stuff.

For now, the event hasn't happened yet, and I'm still in the somewhat normal, having run the Charlottesville Ten-Miler this morning and running it in a much faster time than I would have thought possible. I ran it only a minute slower than last year. It's nice to surprise yourself.

So, back to living this relatively mundane today before heading for a series of days out of the ordinary. I'm really excited.