Westward, Ho or The Westernization of Leiney G.

Entry 1.    10:49 a.m.

Riding with Abby to accompany Leiney to Western. We took three cars so we could drop Willow off with a dog sitter, Leiney could have her car, and Jenny could spend the night.  

Abby seems only to listen to music written and performed by women, period, at least in the last 4 car rides I've had with her. A lot of it very age-appropriate angsty and angry.  She has tickets to 3 concerts in the next month.  All are angsty, young, queer, solo women performers They nailed her demographic.

Moving.
Leiney is excited, genuinely so. This COVID-19 year delay may actually serve a genuine purpose.  Her bye spring quarter last year led to her Amnesty job. They are a tight-knit group, and she has the most confidence I have seen since she entered adolescence. 

I, unsurprisingly, will miss her. We all will, each for different reasons.  I have someone

Abby's tough exterior melted like taffy on a summer sidewalk.

who wants to debate ideas with me, who has politics to the left of me, and who is interested in politics like I used to be.  For the last few years, our discussions and debates have enriched our lives, and at times offered me enough peace of mind to smooth other the rougher patches of home life. 

Drop-off will be hard. But two of her cousins live here, and we have many family friends in Bellingham. In fact, Leiney will be leaving her car at a family friend's home.

Entry 2.    12:51 p.m.

The rain makes this all feel more real, like we are dropping off our daughter at a

college in the PNW. So many speed traps on the drive up.  I drove Leiney's car from Lynnwood with a lead foot. How no one got pulled over in the pack I was in is a mystery. Leiney was reading a compilation of the worst tweets ever from her phone for much of the way. It was hilarious.
Entry 3.   1:44 p.m.
Leiney is unpacking upstairs. Met a couple of her roommates. They seemed nice, but

not like her at all.  A half-rack of redbull sat on the counter.  It will be interesting. Also, 18 and 19 seem incredibly young to 55 yesr old me.  Like tykes, these students seem, like tykes.

Classes don't start until Wednesday, and Leiney's first class is Thursday. She plans on doorknocking with Amnesty until she has classes, and then will be home on Friday to train new recruits.  I am not sure how much she will gel with her roommates.
Entry 4.  2:55 p.m.

Abby is driving. Raining.  Feeling overwhelmingly sad.  The good news I learned from Jenny is one roommate is vegan, the other a wayward vegan hoping to return to the fold. Leiney didn't want to leave, so Jenny was unceremoniously booted (asAbby and I had been some minutes earlier to make more space to unpack) and now has 3.5 hours to fill before she and Jenny go to dinner.  This is a different Leiney. It's a good problem for us to have: A social Leiney.  To us, Jenny and I,
Roomies.
it seems like a switch has flipped.  But, I am guessing all the people she has met and befriended, and the 100s or thousands of Seattleites she has spoken to doorknocking for Amnesty helped lessen her small group social anxiety. 

Meanwhile, my anxiety is at 11.   I also would like my own passenger-side brake pedal.


Comments

  1. Cheryl RSSeptember 21, 2021 at 10:58 AM

    Eddie isn't a fan of his roommate - he describes him as a misogynist with anger issues. This whole roommate thing is something I never experienced. It's a trip.

    ReplyDelete

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