25 days and counting

So, I work at a food Co-Op and I get to see everybody I know in my town, about twice a week. Everyone asks me: "When are you leaving?" and I usually know exactly how many days until June 5th. Today, the answer is 25. THAT IS INSANE!!! I can't believe it! I know this because I occasionally check on my future fellow PCV Marcus' blog http://rozbitsky.blogspot.com/, where he has a counter that counts down by the second until our staging event in Philadelphia. It is most helpful in keeping me (the world's best procrastinator) on track.

However, it could be responsible for my tossing and turning each night when I crawl into bed. I usually get comfortable and then pick up one of the eight books I am currently reading (all of which have some connection to either Zambia or the Peace Corps) and read until I drop the book on my face. Well, then I have to reach over to turn off the light and something about that motion wakes me up again, at least enough for my brain to cycle out of control about the fact that I am moving to Zambia in less than a month (much less in fact). I have to tell myself not to think about Zambia if I am going to get any sleep at all. What else is there to think about? Well, perhaps the things I am unfortunately going to miss this summer:

• My sister is pregnant and due to deliver what we think is a girl on September 8th. I am bummed to be missing the occasion, but perhaps it will make my mother less concerned about me, and more distracted by the excitement of her first grandchild!
• My rockstar friends - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (check them out: http://gracepotter.com/) - are playing a bazillion music festivals I would love to be attending this summer. The only upside I can think of for that business is that by the time I return I can start saying "I knew them when. . . " Right now is just a little too soon to be impressive, although they are becoming HUGE, so you should all be going to see them whenever possible! Plug, plug, plug.
• Two of my "little" cousins are graduating from high school in June and going off to college. I am so proud! What a bummer to miss their respective big days.
• The project for which I have been sitting on a steering committee for the last several months is finally going to take off. The Straight Up and Safe program of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont will start training outreach workers in June and they'll be hosting a bunch of open houses to launch the many projects that have been designed since the funding came through. I'll be sad to miss it, but they promise to update me often.
• I'm not even sure whether my family is planning our semi-annual vacation on Martha's Vineyard, but if they go, I'll miss it, and that will be a bummer.

Even with all of the potential occasions to miss and the inevitable sacrifices that come with Peace Corps service, I am so excited to get out there and do this really meaningful work. It will be wonderful and I can't wait. I'm just a little nervous about getting malaria and the prospect of fire ants by the thousands invading my mud-brick hut (I'm not kidding) in the middle of the night. . . and I'm worried about getting to sleep for the next 25 nights??? That alone should be a comforting thought, no fire ants will awaken me if I can finally get to sleep.