ATLANTA I LOVE YOU!
So last week at this time, I was pretty much convinced that I was going to have a pretty boring summer as a reserve teacher in St. Louis.
THANK GOD I WAS WRONG! I'm sitting on the couch in the NICEST freaking apartment ever in Alpharetta, GA right now, with my kitty curled up next to me, after a long (but good) day of teaching. I feel like the luckiest person in the world right now to have randomly applied for this job last year...I never thought I would get to spend the summer somewhere so NICE! (This is where I'm staying: http://www.amli.com/apartments/atlanta/milton-park/)
Just some observations about Atlanta...
1. Traffic is INSANE here. I don't know WHAT the heck is up with it, but it is really bad.
2. PEOPLE ARE SO NICE. It must just be the South.
3. The diversity is great - in St. Louis, you're either white or black. There's really not a huge Hispanic population or any other ethnicity...but here in Atlanta, there are white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, EVERY kind of ethnicity in my classes. It's really nice to have such diversity around! There are also a TON of people from the Caribbean Islands, which I didn't expect at all.
4. The landscape is beautiful. I'm used to looking out my window and seeing flat land with a bunch of freaking corn. NOT HERE IN GEORGIA! Everything is green, everywhere. It's beautiful.
5. Strangely, I haven't come across very many thick Southern accents. Interesting!
Before I got on the road on Tuesday morning, I stopped by my uncle's store to cash a check. My grandpa, who is 86 years old, still goes up there to work every day because he's a workaholic. He's a really interesting man - not quick to praise once you're past the age of 12 or so, but the most loving and wonderful grandpa when you're a kid. I spent almost every day of the first ten years of my life with my grandparents, and when my grandma got alzheimer's, I watched my grandpa take care of my grandma for five years and knew that I would never settle for a man that didn't remind me of him. He doesn't talk much about my grandma because he misses her, but also because he's not the type to live in the past and dwell. I know he thinks about her, probably every moment of every day, because they had the most beautiful and classic love story that I've ever heard. I'm just lucky enough that they're MY grandparents. He's still my favorite person in the world.
Anyway, like I said, he's not very quick to praise...so when I stopped Tuesday morning, I didn't really expect him to say much to me or even know that I was going away for the summer. I guess my mom had called and told him because WOW - he was my old grandpa again and I felt like I was five years old, showing him an A on my first test and listening to him tell me how smart I was. He was so ridiculously proud of me, and couldn't tell me enough how excited he was that I had this opportunity. I don't know exactly why, but I could live without praise or encouragement from everyone else in the world as long as I get it from my grandpa...maybe because it is so hard to come by, and when he gives it, I know he really means it.
When I was leaving, he walked me to my car, shoved a $100 bill into my hand, gave me a hug, and said the most beautiful words that have ever come out of his mouth - "Your grandma would be really proud of you." It was so unexpected, so sincere, and so perfect. He hasn't mentioned her to me in years...and the fact that he KNOWS, he REMEMBERS all of the time we spent together, and he understands how much she still means to me even though she's been gone 9 years, makes me feel so special. I don't think I'm explaining it right...but it just makes me feel WHOLE to know that out of all the people in the world, the one I love and respect the most really understands the deepest, most sincere and most REAL part of me, which is everything that my grandma gave me and instilled in me. And it's because she gave it to him, too...even though he's my grandpa and we're connected because of that, we're also connected because we both loved her more than anyone in the world. So...yeah. That was really cheesy...but I needed to get it down before this initial feeling faded away. I would be nowhere without my grandma and grandpa. :)
THANK GOD I WAS WRONG! I'm sitting on the couch in the NICEST freaking apartment ever in Alpharetta, GA right now, with my kitty curled up next to me, after a long (but good) day of teaching. I feel like the luckiest person in the world right now to have randomly applied for this job last year...I never thought I would get to spend the summer somewhere so NICE! (This is where I'm staying: http://www.amli.com/apartments/atlanta/milton-park/)
Just some observations about Atlanta...
1. Traffic is INSANE here. I don't know WHAT the heck is up with it, but it is really bad.
2. PEOPLE ARE SO NICE. It must just be the South.
3. The diversity is great - in St. Louis, you're either white or black. There's really not a huge Hispanic population or any other ethnicity...but here in Atlanta, there are white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, EVERY kind of ethnicity in my classes. It's really nice to have such diversity around! There are also a TON of people from the Caribbean Islands, which I didn't expect at all.
4. The landscape is beautiful. I'm used to looking out my window and seeing flat land with a bunch of freaking corn. NOT HERE IN GEORGIA! Everything is green, everywhere. It's beautiful.
5. Strangely, I haven't come across very many thick Southern accents. Interesting!
Before I got on the road on Tuesday morning, I stopped by my uncle's store to cash a check. My grandpa, who is 86 years old, still goes up there to work every day because he's a workaholic. He's a really interesting man - not quick to praise once you're past the age of 12 or so, but the most loving and wonderful grandpa when you're a kid. I spent almost every day of the first ten years of my life with my grandparents, and when my grandma got alzheimer's, I watched my grandpa take care of my grandma for five years and knew that I would never settle for a man that didn't remind me of him. He doesn't talk much about my grandma because he misses her, but also because he's not the type to live in the past and dwell. I know he thinks about her, probably every moment of every day, because they had the most beautiful and classic love story that I've ever heard. I'm just lucky enough that they're MY grandparents. He's still my favorite person in the world.
Anyway, like I said, he's not very quick to praise...so when I stopped Tuesday morning, I didn't really expect him to say much to me or even know that I was going away for the summer. I guess my mom had called and told him because WOW - he was my old grandpa again and I felt like I was five years old, showing him an A on my first test and listening to him tell me how smart I was. He was so ridiculously proud of me, and couldn't tell me enough how excited he was that I had this opportunity. I don't know exactly why, but I could live without praise or encouragement from everyone else in the world as long as I get it from my grandpa...maybe because it is so hard to come by, and when he gives it, I know he really means it.
When I was leaving, he walked me to my car, shoved a $100 bill into my hand, gave me a hug, and said the most beautiful words that have ever come out of his mouth - "Your grandma would be really proud of you." It was so unexpected, so sincere, and so perfect. He hasn't mentioned her to me in years...and the fact that he KNOWS, he REMEMBERS all of the time we spent together, and he understands how much she still means to me even though she's been gone 9 years, makes me feel so special. I don't think I'm explaining it right...but it just makes me feel WHOLE to know that out of all the people in the world, the one I love and respect the most really understands the deepest, most sincere and most REAL part of me, which is everything that my grandma gave me and instilled in me. And it's because she gave it to him, too...even though he's my grandpa and we're connected because of that, we're also connected because we both loved her more than anyone in the world. So...yeah. That was really cheesy...but I needed to get it down before this initial feeling faded away. I would be nowhere without my grandma and grandpa. :)