Okay, today is a strange day.  It is not a strange day because I am leaving on a trip, I do that often enough.  It is not strange because the bed is currently full of clothing that will probably never all fit into the suitcase.  That is way too normal.

It is strange first because, well, I am weirdly calm.  I was pretty wound up the past few days and I thought that it was because I was nervous about the trip.  But, once I finished my paper yesterday, this unusual sense of calm settled upon me. 

The second, and truly most monumental reason that today is strange is — I was just ironing.

Oh, laugh if you will, but my hands have not touched an iron since I gave up seamstressing.  Yes, seamstressing.  Ever since that day when I gave away the sewing machine that I had been given as a highschool graduation present, no ironing has taken place by these hands.  I had to dig in the closet to find the iron and the miniature iron board (which I kept just in case, when I gave away all my other seamstressing paraphanalia).  To date, if something needed ironing, it went straight to the cleaners.  After all, they have the professional equipment, right?  Who am I to interfere with the practice of a craft…

But this morning I rose early to pack, took my newly acquired bottle of spray starch and carefully sprayed and rolled each skirt as my mother taught me so many years ago, and then, just a few minutes ago, I carefully (okay, not carefully, quickly) pressed each skirt so that the wrinkles would be minimal when I arrive at my destination.

I hardly know what to say….am I calm because I’m ironing, or did I take time to iron because I am finally calm? 

I know that many new adventures await. I simply can’t wait to tell you about them…