Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

At a party on Sunday, I heard someone say, “You know what they say around here. If you don’t like the weather, wait 24 hours.” What’s funny is this is something they have said in a few places I’ve lived. I think it was the most true in Bloomington, Indiana – where it would go from cold and snowing to hot to tornadoes. You really never did know. The other places I’ve lived have been so much more predictable. In Boston, you can expect it to be cold a lot of the time. In North Carolina, the sky really is blue a lot of the time. There are general patterns that happen.

This all got me to thinking about the differences between people who have spent a lot of time living in the same place and people who have moved around a lot. I’m obviously in the latter camp. I’ve lived in Memphis; England; Atlanta; Athens, GA; Oberlin, Ohio; Boston, MA; Atlanta again; Bloomington, Indiana; Memphis again; Boston again; and Raleigh. What I don’t have is this inner sense of the cyclic-ness of a year. I’ve always assumed that this is because of my ADD brain. I mean, I have no regular sleep schedule, no regular eating schedule… I never have. I seem to lack these cyclical rhythms that other people have. But it’s definitely been made worse because of so much moving around.

Living here in North Carolina for over a year now, this is really the first chance I’ve had to spend quite a bit of time around many people who are truly locals for longer than a year. While I lived in Bloomington for 7 years, I knew very few people from Bloomington – or even Indiana. My closest friends there were from Chicago, Michigan, India, England, Ohio, Texas, etc. We all shared years together, but our yearly cycles had much more to do with the academic calendar than anything else. It’s the one thing we all shared.

The people who come to mind first are Shannon and Andy. They both have very organized, properly regulated internal cycles, and they have both spent a lot of time here in Raleigh. They know that it’s almost time for the state fair and the best places to park when we go. They know what the fun things to do are at any time of year and what is coming up next. They have advanced organizational and navigational skills, honed in one place. They have been around the same patterns for years, and they have been paying attention. It’s really fascinating to me – Me, a person who sees every day as brand new, every trip to the store as time to look up directions yet again.

As a result, I’ve learned to just trust that things will all work out, that I’ll find my way, that something fun will happen. Because it’s my only option. Yes, we will end up somewhere. When we get there, I’m sure we’ll see what is fun. I bet we’ll meet some nice people and see some cool stuff. Whatever it is, I’m game. I trust my navigators. I trust the Universe (with a capital U) to get me to another adventure, because generally, I have no idea what to expect. And I’m kind of OK with that.

For me to get around as they do, I rely on GPS, calendars, and todo lists. They help me to function as if I have clocks and compasses of my own. I call them my external hard drives. I guess my gift has always been the ability to find these technologies and befriend these kinds of people. I’m so grateful for the linear thinkers around me. Those that know the best way to navigate. Those that have internal clocks and compasses. I’m lucky to have them in my life.