DD got all moved in to her apartment, which really isn't an apartment, on Saturday. She and a friend got a rental through a management company that specializes in dorm-style housing for interns, guest students and temporary workers in expensive markets. So it is like a dorm, just not on campus, but with a better kitchen and more comfortable shared areas than her dorm building had. She's very happy to be back on the west coast and in the city, even though she landed to some really weird weather for the Bay Area - a heat wave and spectacular lightning - and said the building is in a wonderful location, close to a Trader Joes and a mall with a Target and coffee shop.
But for the second year in a row, she's really far away and dealing with a loss, which is a terribly helpless feeling for me as a parent. Our former parish priest, who the kids all adored and who she stayed in touch with even after he was reassigned, was lost in a boating accident last night and is presumed dead. She got the news even before I did this morning, thanks to a storm and a lightning-damaged cell phone tower in our town - when my closest mom friend couldn't reach me she called DD without thinking about the time difference, so that's what DD woke up to this morning. I eventually got wi-fi calling set up on my phone and was able to talk to her, and she called me back later to tell me she went to the wharf for dinner with a couple of friends from the (still closed) restaurant where she worked last year, but it sucks to have her so far away when she's upset... and it is even harder right now because I know her normal response would have been to lean on friends from campus ministry but both the campus and church are closed right now. She's a tough kid and I'm sure she'll be okay, but it would be nice for her not to have to be quite so tough quite so often. Next year better be uneventful!
