In which the sun finally reappears

Luckily my parents witnessed great weather in Oxford, but after they left in first week the weather took a turn for the worse which lasted until this week. However, this weekend was simply beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky both days, the temperature hovered between 75 and 80.

Yesterday I organized a mass punting expedition. There were nine of us in two punts armed with strawberries, beer and Prosecco. We quacked at ducks, slid under bridges and crashed into trees and bushes on the banks. I sat on the front of our punt for the majority of the trip, sporting Max's captain hat and wishing that the afternoon could last forever.

Today was just as lovely. I went for a run before brunch and then headed to the park with Charlie and Jarrai to do work because I couldn't not be outside. Unfortunately I had to go inside chapel for choir. I literally tallied the number of daylight hours I was missing by singing. This is what happens in England - you can't take the sun for granted.

The onset of summer has made me more antsy for home than I have been this whole year. It was nice to have such similar weather to home all year (as opposed to crazy St. Louis) but this nice weather makes me want to swim at Irvington, walk down to Broadway, bike to brunch at Nehalem. I can feel myself transitioning back to the States which is a bizarre sensation. I have told multiple people both here and at home that I didn't expect to feel the weight of leaving so early - I thought it would maybe hit me like two weeks before leaving. But no, it's been on my mind all term and is all I can think about sometimes. As the date comes closer, I'm glad that excitement about going home is starting to balance out the dread of leaving.