So, naturally, I had to call them soon thereafter, just to make sure they were still alive an well. (Which they are.) I told my mom I had a bad dream:
Mom:Oh, sweetie, what was it about?
Me: You and Dad were in a car accident.
Mom: Did we die??
I then called Dad -
Me: I had a bad dream about you and Mom the other night.
Dad: Were we dead??
(Not only are they so married that they both immediately went there, but they were almost a little too enthusiastic to find out what had happened. Kind of like how Dad reacted when Mom had the dream of putting him in a wood chipper.)
Dad goes on to say... "I think you're missing the silver lining here. In the dream, did you get to go through all of our stuff?"
Anyway, I'm now completely settled because not only are my parents alive, but they're still indisputably themselves. I talked to them a couple nights later, and when Mom took the phone, she enthusiastically declared, "I figured out what your dream meant!"
Really? What?
"You're moving far away. From everything, really. You'll be far away from your friends, your family, and Tom's not going to be there. You're losing your whole support base."
My mommy is smart. (Dream diagnosis AND correctly identifying the type of food poisoning I had the other day? Brilliant!!)
But in all seriousness, I am scared about potential isolation. My first few weeks in Evanston were AWFUL... I remember that Lou left the apartment for a little while and I literally knew no one, save Tom's cousins on the southside that I visited once. It was hot and muggy, and a mosquito bit me four times on the face and made my lip swell up. I'm hoping that with the different climate and the fact that I have a job to keep me busy, Portland will be slightly different.
Here's what I AM looking forward to: living on my own, cooking for myself, a decent schedule, teaching a lot, and playing for money. And being close to the ocean. Life will be different, but very very good.