tonight's the night

We are already four weeks into this semester of grad school (I'm serious, slow down Time, you're getting to me). More incredible than the fact that four weeks have already gone by is the fact that I have not yet taken the train home. I've taken the train inbound, oh yes, but not outbound. I have not walked across downtown Boston to North Station by myself at 10:00pm. I have not waited in North Station, cold and alone, until my train boards at 10:40pm. I have not arrived on the North Shore nearing 11:30 at night, walked to my car and driven home down sleepy, dark streets. Nope, none of that.

Between my sister, my husband, and the one time I drove into the city, I have had a ride home every.night. I can't explain how wonderful it has been, and how thankful I am to have gotten that little more time with my husband at night, that little extra bit of sleep, and that steep decrease in potentially sketchy situation time (there's lot of me, alone, on dark streets in the train-home scenario). I've also had this wonderful time with my sister- riding in the car late at night, chatting and laughing at our days. It is SO MUCH BETTER than telling off cat-calling men in North Station, let me tell you.

Alas, tonight it's the train. It's not really an "alas" situation- my gosh, it's not as dramatic as I've described- but, I am thankful for the semester thus far, and how tangibly my sister and husband have cared for me. It's one more way that experience has proved to me it is better to depend on those closest you, than it is to attempt to go it alone. Independence is overrated.