Leah
I gave myself a serious Pep talk before I moved back to Miami. Something I've discovered about myself is that I'm not one of those lucky people who works well under pressure. When I'm under pressure, I get easily frazzled and lost, and I forget my objective. If I give myself goals and deadlines though, my life runs smoothly, like a well oiled machine, which is how I like it. I told myself that I would have everything situated in a month. I told myself that I would have my own car, that I would have a job, and that I would have taken all of the necessary steps to make sure I get priority registration for school in the fall.
I'm getting my first car today, so I'm already ahead of the game, and more than on track for my goal. I haven't even been home two weeks, so I'm proud of myself for this accomplishment. I even found the car all on my own. It's a used white 2012 Camry for $8,500. Robert and my mom went with me to check the car out. The woman who was selling it had no problems with Robert checking the engine and inspecting the car thoroughly. It's in amazing condition, has never been in any accidents, and has barely been used, so the mileage is ridiculously low for being five years old.
The seller was a really nice lady who lived in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Miami. She explained to us that she bought a second car, feeling like it might make her feel better after her divorce. It was a little too much information for me, but I'm glad to hear that she's in a happy, committed relationship now. Lucky for me, she wasn't asking a crazy high selling price like she could she for a car in this good of a condition.
I was hoping to walk away with the car that day, but she wanted to do everything by the book because she still has three payments left on the car. She told us to give her a couple of days so that she could have documents drawn up so that we would have a legally binding notarized contract that placed all responsibly for the final payments on me. I guess I might not trust an eighteen year old girl with just her word either. I'm just exited that today is finally the day that I get the keys.
I'm also pretty psyched that I have $1,500 leftover from what my dad gave me for my car fund. That will be more than enough for me to make the three payments on the car, and still have plenty of money to hold me over until I find a job. Speaking of, the family that my mom said might want to hire me as their babysitter just got back from their vacation in Fiji. The fact that they vacation in Fiji means that they will probably be willing to pay me pretty generously if I get the job. It's also just a bit nerve wracking cause they probably also have high expectations for the person watching their children, so I better make a good first impression tomorrow.
Aside from me reaching my goals, I'm also just genuinely happy to be home with my mom. I've missed our bonding time; laughing and spilling tea, getting our nails and hair done together, laughing at all of the ridiculous girls on Real Housewives, and rooting for our favorites. I was cool with Tanya, but we didn't get bond like this. We both had busy schedules, trying to balance my schooling and her work, while also trying to keep my dad comfortable and healthy.
I've missed being in this house. I've missed my room. I've missed my calming back yard, with all of the trees, and my grandma's Garden that my mom took over after she died. I miss my moms ancient dog Molly, who I'm surprised is still alive, and yes, I even miss Jovan, though I won't admit it out loud. There's something comforting and familiar about his sarcastic humor and corny jokes. One of my favorite pastimes is watching that look my mom gets on her face when Jovan says or asks something incredibly stupid.
Of all of the things I'm happy about though, I have to admit that I'm happiest about Alex. I haven't spoken to or seen him since the party at Cleo's, but I've still been obsessing over it. I can't stop thinking about his beautiful smile, how he shared drinks with me all night. I've spent the last week going over every detail of how close he sat next to me on the couch, how he kept looking over and smiling at me, the hug he gave me at the end of the night. It's all sort of overwhelming in a pathetic way. I know how stupid it sounds, but I felt fifteen all over again.
