Garbage, Recycling and Extra Clothing

Day 146: Garbage, Recycling and Extra Clothing

My idea was that Emma Jane would be in one of four moods during the 24- to 36-hour drop-off period: cold and snarky, or calm and mature, or stressed and frustrated, or weepy and sentimental. Possibly, I figured she would be all four at various moments.

So far, it's been mostly calm and mature, with a little silly and excited thrown in. And affectionate, and cheerful too. No sign of snarky and stressed.

She packed the car all by herself, the stuff piled so high we couldn't see out the rear view mirror. An easy drive through pastoral Indiana. Our first stop upon arrival: the college book store to get her books for the semester. She held even held my hand for a moment during the walk there. The wait for textbooks was nothing like in my day, when the store was packed with customers and staff sweating and shouting, flipping through big stacks of computer printouts and if you forgot your schedule, too bad for you. During the 20 minutes we were there, we had the undivided attention of a calm and cheery clerk. A half-dozen students came to pick up the textbook packages they'd already ordered on-line, no sales clerk necessary. We were the only folks who were selecting and buying the books right then. Emma chose wisely what to buy new, what to buy used, and what to rent.

Then back to the hotel, where she (again wisely) decided to reduce her packed clothing by a third. I couldn't get her to agree to let me give this big IKEA bag of extra stuff to the Goodwil, but at least she won't have it choking up her dorm room. (I also got rid of a massive pile of trash and recycling from her room this morning.) She did give me the Wicked jacket that my mom bought for her when we went to see the live Broadway show the year before last, which I love because I love the Oz books (I've read each at least five times), and the book Wicked (I've read it twice), and the musical (which I cherish the memory of seeing with Mom and Emma in Detroit). And now the jacket is a souvenir of this night as well.

Then, onto Scotty's, the brew pub a block from campus that is on its way to being our place while we are here. Our first dinner with Emma in many months, since she got her lifeguarding job and started buying fast food dinners with her friends.

Now relaxing in the Ball State Hotel suite we got for the night. 

Thirteen hours until move-in.