It's happening... Tomorrow!
Tomorrow is the big day which means today I am finalizing all of my packing. It’s a little late in the game, I know, but packing for Alaska has been really complicated--and not for the reasons you may think!
The biggest thing that stood in the way of my packing is my upcoming move to a new apartment. Since the actual move-in date will occur while I’m in Alaska, the past week has been me packaging up my entire apartment so that my wonderful roommate (with the help of some professionals) can move my stuff for me while I’m away. I’ve been in that apartment for three years now, so as you can imagine there was A LOT of stuff I had to go through.
I'm only moving a few blocks away, but boy will I miss this view! Photo taken by Liza, circa 2019
The other issue in packing was figuring out how to pack both for a trip to Alaska and Alabama. Although I live in New York City, I’m flying out of Alabama (well... Atlanta) because I needed to leave my cats and my car (opposite side parking in NYC is impossible!) with my family. My family also typically celebrates the fourth of July together, and since I’m coming home in late June it makes the most sense just to stick around for a little bit. But packing for the Arctic is very different than packing for the heat in the Alabama Summer!
With everything happening, I decided to jam my car full of everything I might need in both locations and sort through it once I arrived in Alabama. One 16 hour drive and a good night’s rest later and I am now working on repacking only the essentials for my trip north.
While the timing of my upcoming apartment move was an inconvenience to my trip, the timing of the trip itself ended up being wonderful, as I’m able to be with my mom for Mother’s Day today, which hasn’t happened since I graduated from college. As she helps me with my packing, I’m reminded of all the ways her presence in my life has brought me to where I am now. Her stories of traveling abroad and experiencing new cultures as a young girl, her passion for learning, questioning, and arguing over theories of science and society around the dinner table at night, and her ingenuity in solving problems through a lot of trial and error (in which error is the fun part because it means you get to try again!) and persistence have all been a huge impact on shaping me into a scientist and a teacher. I definitely would not be the same if it wasn’t for her. Thank you, Mom!
This selfie is my favorite photo of my mom and me, taken circa 2016 after a day of woodworking together.
Happy Mother’s Day!
I’ll leave you with a question today… How did your mother and/or mother figure(s) inspire you to be who you are today?
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