paper chains

One year, when I was very young, waiting for Christmas was almost more than my little heart could bear. I think I was too small to fully grasp the concept of calendars, so my mom helped me in a way that I could understand. We made a paper chain together, then hung it up on our freezer. At the end of every day, I was allowed to pull one ring off my paper chain, thus counting down the days to Christmas.

This past year my classmates and I were surely old enough to understand calendars, but in our prospect-of-graduation-induced madness, we turned to the same method. A teacher made a paper chain for us to count down the days until our graduation. On the joyous day when we reached the last link, we looked at each other, each grasped a part of that last ring, and joyfully tore it apart.

Today is the first day of fall break on campus, meaning that there are no classes until next Tuesday. Most of the students have gone home this weekend, leaving the campus almost entirely to the student-athletes who have games over the weekend. Today, in a moment of nostalgia and impatience, I bought a package of construction paper and once more created a paper chain. On one end is written today's date. On the other is the date that I arrive back home: November 21, 2008. I simply cannot wait, and am having a hard time not obsessing.


Unfortunately the chain is longer than I am tall, but it is a comfort to know that the chain will get a little shorter each day.


Right now I have to rush off to a quick meal before my game tonight against the monster team of our league. The great thing about sports, however, is that upsets happen all the time. I am optimistic. =)