Hey everybody!
It's been a while since I wrote a proper blog for you guys (as per my usual), so I thought this time I should just give you all a big update on what's been going on with us, here at Casa de Nichols, here with the Quad Squad!
1. New digs
So I didn't mention this in my last blog, but as of last November we moved into a new house in the rural outskirts of San Marcos. It's my dream house, truly. I've always wanted to live in a log cabin, and while we may only have a log cabin façade, that's pretty damn close!
We have a nice little 5 acre plot out here, filled with oak trees young and old, as well as the unstoppable cedar. This past spring it was green for months, only just now turning crispy brown in the summer sun. Our property is beautiful, and incredibly peaceful. When I want to, I'm able to go on to the porch, listen to the wind whisper through the trees and tickle the wind chimes, as I look out across our front view, with our two horses and one pony grazing contentedly. I get to watch the birds at the feeders, chipping happily to one another; I get to see all of the flowers and greenery my mom has begun planting around the entire house. It's my little slice of heaven.
And the inside is just as gorgeous! Wide open spaces, warm wood floors, a vaulted wooded ceiling in the living room, surrounded by my parents excellent antiques and decor from all over Europe. My own room also has a vaulted wooden ceiling, light blue walls, and the most amazing window, nearly as big as an entire wall on its own, where I can watch the sun come in every morning.
Did I mention house is completely wheelchair accessible? It was designed by a man in a wheelchair to be his retirement home, but luckily for us he decided to retire in Wisconsin, instead! More power to him, but he won't ever know what he's missing, not being in the greatest state of the nation! Besides, I don't want to be the one having to shovel all that snow!
But as far as accessibility is concerned, all the doors are extra-wide, there are ramps to the backyard and the garage, and even the shower is wheelchair accessible! I have a new chair specifically made for taking showers, and just took one the other day, for the first time in about five years! Crazy, right? But entirely wonderful.
I'm a little far from some of my friends, and a little closer to others, but they have all been kind enough to make the trip out here more than once to hang out, so I couldn't ask for more. That was my one worry moving out here; that I wouldn't see them as much. But that worry has been easily wiped away. I could not be more happy here, in my piece of paradise.
2. Military retirement
After almost 40 years of dedicated service, my dad finally retired from his military career. He retired as a two star general, and was the last of his Air Force Academy class to do so. I could not be more proud to have a dad who served so well for so many years, dedicating himself to his people and his country, no matter what.
And I tell you what, his retirement ceremony was no small thing, and it shouldn't have been! We started the morning with the change of command ceremony on the parade ground of Camp Mabry, the headquarters for the Texas National Guard. While many stood at attention on the field, my dad made a wonderful speech about service, before passing the flag to the next person who would take his place.
After her speech (where she freely admitted she hoped she could speak as well as my dad someday!), there was a brief reception where I began to be introduced to many of the people from my parents' past, as so many of the friends they had made over the many, many years my dad has served came to wish him well.
After the reception was dad's official retirement ceremony, and he was signed out by none other than his best friend, who also happens to be the Chief of the National Guard Bureau for the United States, and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joe has always been an excellent friend to my dad and our family, it was a joy to see him do dad the honor of seeing him out. They both made great speeches, but that's to be expected. I mean, most of you have met my dad, right? He's a natural!
And then finally was the dinner. Held at a hotel, over 500 people attended all in support of him! I got to meet more and more people that I had heard stories about my entire life, but had never had the chance to meet before: friends from the Academy, when he was stationed in Texas before meeting mom, friends from Las Vegas, Spain, the Pentagon, Wisconsin, and finally here in Texas again in my lifetime. I cannot describe how much love there was that night for my dad. And I can never tell you how much it was deserved. A great ending to an even greater career.
3. Graduate school!
What can I say? Graduate school is both amazing and a ton of work! I'm only taking two classes per semester, instead of three, and that makes me a part-time student; I'll probably be doing this for a while, but I don't mind! The professors have been great, the school very accepting and accommodating, and my peers are excellent. It's so nice to be in classes where the students actually want to be there! Huge change from undergrad, where so many felt like they had to be there, and therefore were less than interested in the classes. These people truly want to be here, and it shows in their class discussions, their attention, their intelligent responses. It's a great feeling to be a part of them.
I tend to get rather obsessive about my work, and really into getting all of the reading done, which takes up a lot of my time. Last semester (my first semester), I barely made time to do anything but study, and it was a little ridiculous. Now I know that I can handle the workload, and still have a few days every now and then for fun (or time for blogging!). It's been an adjustment, but a great one.
Last semester my two classes were American Romanticism (from Emerson, to Melville, all the way to Kerouac), and Literary Scholarship, which was all about different methods of literary criticism (Marxism, gender studies, feminism, etc.). This semester has just started, and I am taking a class on the Restoration (18th century British literature) and Beowulf and other Old English literature, which is incredibly interesting! I'll make sure to keep my grades up! But you already knew that, knowing me!
So in a nutshell (a very large nutshell), that's what we've been up to over here in San Marcos. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I promise to publish another blog soon… Or at least before Christmas ha ha! And so we go!
