Start week

And the new season has once again begun at Oudezijds 100. This is now the sixth time that I've experienced this, and I've come to the conclusion that start week is not my favourite time of the year.

That's not to say that I'm not happy to see the people coming back from vacation. Even better, the house is once again full of life, especially the chapel and Kajuit (our common living room). And new people have arrived, including the 2 in-house university-age full-time volunteers who help with tons of big and little things around the house. And I like most of the activities that we do, including the upcoming Community weekend.

But.... it's a bit of a shock to the system. Too much too soon. The lazy feeling of summer, the openness of everyone's agendas, the comraderie of being one of the few who have come to the chapel, the Kajuit and/or dinner have instantly disappeared. And they've been replaced: Not by something bad, just something different. I need some time to adjust.

Perhaps next year I'll do better in planning a distraction for that week (or start on my community to-do list a bit earlier!) And the shock and adjustment will be a bit less.

At the same time, I am thankful that we do, to some degree, have a week built in for adjusting to being back together and working out schedules and planning. That makes the adjustment a bit easier. However, I'm more thankful that the first week is over and that I've once again remembered the wonder I have of being part of such a fascinating, albeit busy, community.