Today was my last day at the hospital. I was under the impression that I hadn't made very many friends here in Danville, which was fine with me because that wasn't really why I was here this summer. I was here to work and spend time with old friends, who I realize now have become so much like family that I've begun to take them for granted, a mistake I often make with family. So new friends weren't really on the agenda. I didn't want to get rooted in to a place where I was fairly certain I would never return. Especially Danville, which really is such an unfortunate town. But after certain moments today and earlier this week, I realize I have made friends. They just aren't the kind I am accustomed to making on my summer ventures. I have always been surrounded by people the same age as me and in roughly the same life situation. Here in Danville, I nearly never encounter anyone in either of those categories. I guess if I ever needed to feel unique, I've had my fix. I haven't met many people that are quite like me.
Today I said goodbye to several of these unexpected friendships: Rob and Andrea, the transporters I worked with at the hospital, who liked, appreciated, and taught me despite my unfortunate clumsiness and my surprisingly enduring poor sense of direction around the hospital. Both more than double my age and have been at the hospital for longer than I have been alive. I also said goodbye to my Thursday lunch buddies, three charming older men who also volunteer at the hospital, likely triple me in age, and who I have had the pleasure of shooting the breeze with every Thursday for the last two months, only barely delving into the life experience and wisdom the three of them probably hold. And of course Becky and Dorothy from the volunteer office who took to me for who knows why and helped make my experience there so pleasant. Despite my intentions of aloofness and detachment, I seemed to have found a small handful of attachments.
Although I haven't said goodbye to this pair yet, my landlords, Dave and Verna have also made quite an impression on me, which I realized earlier this week when they rescued me from an outbreak of a chronic condition that I have. We'll call this unfortunate illness kilocar syndrome. (sounds a little like key-lock-car, or kill-a-car. Both are appropriate.) Yes, I locked my keys in my car. Again. I called them for suggestions and these two stood in the cold (yeah it's chilly here) with me for hours as we relentlessly tried to break into my car. By the end of the ordeal, we had switched tools several times and were working by phone flashlight but at last, success! I can't really express how grateful I am for this. They did not have to spend their evening rescuing me from my own stupidity. But they did. They have been great to us all summer, not just this one heroic event. I've had the fortune of meeting a lot of good people in my life, and these two rank right up there.
So, all of the shout outs to get around to the general feeling and understanding that my time here in Danville is coming to a close, and although I am ready to leave and move on to the next phase, I will not leave completely untouched and unaffected by my time here, and by the people I have met here. Truthfully, there are more people and experiences worthy of mention, but summing up a whole summer is difficult and this post is getting lengthy as it is.
I have four more days of work at Steak n Shake, a packing day, and then I will be on my way to my mom's house in VA. It is hard to believe. Every change is hard to believe when it arrives. Sometime after it is over though, I'm sure I'll realize it has happened.
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