I Ain't Bovvered... well, maybe just a little bit

...Eugh! I do NOT feel well. I've been nauseous for the past 5 days! My dad says that I'm just nervous about leaving on Monday. And by now, I'd have to agree. It's weird that my anxiety is manifesting itself by making me sick. The first time I had an anxiety attack, I felt a tightness in my chest and had difficulty breathing. Then, I had heart palpitations. But nausea is new.

I've had a few tears over leaving some people and things behind here. I mean, I know that there are so many awesome people to meet and so many things to do and to learn, but I'm finding it hard to say 'see you later'.

Yesterday, I helped move my friend Andrew into my apartment. What I mean by that is he is moving into the room I lived in last year. It was a little difficult for me to move him in, knowing that he's living where I'd be if I was staying in Canada. He's living with my roommates and best friends, Meghan and Jason! He's going to have a wonderful time— but I can't help being a little jealous. I guess I'll be the one visiting him at Christmas.

Today, I had to call my friend Steve to talk about some camp stuff and that was hard, too! It was so great to talk my friend whom I had worked so closely with this summer, but soon, I began to think about camp and how I wont be back there for summer 2010. I guess I just find it hard to leave behind a community like that, to go to a place where I really don't know anyone.

I think I really need God's help with this stuff. So, here are some verses that are helping me to trust that God will take care of me:

Psalm 9:10
"Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you." (NLT)

Psalm 32:8
"The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." (NLT)

1 Corinthians 10:13
"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." (MSG)

Until next time...

P.S. Oh yeah... I was in a thrift store with Andrew the other day and we saw this mug that something to the effect of "You can't scare me, I'm a nanny." Hahahaha

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

It is the last day of August and, for the first time in almost twenty years, I will not be returning to school in September. For almost my whole life, September has meant back-to-school shopping, purchasing textbooks and worrying about who my teachers will be. But with kindergarten, elementary school, high school and even university behind me, I look ahead into my school-less future. *sigh* I like what I see.

As I am a compulsive plan-ahead-er, my near future isn't entirely unkown. In just one week, I will depart my beloved homeland of Canada for my new job as an 'au pair' in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, Great Britain. An 'au pair', is a sort of nanny. According to wikipedia, an au pair is a foreign-national domestic assistant working for, and living as part of, a host family... The title comes from the French term au pair, meaning "on a par" or "equal to", indicating that the relationship is intended to be one of equals: the au pair is intended to become a member of the family, albeit a temporary one, rather than a domestic servant. Well, that sounds pretty good to me!

My particular au pair position will be with a family that includes taking care of three lovely children. After summers of working at summer camps, I hope I have the experience needed to keep up with them!

To follow are my adventures in Birmingham!