What's Your Date?

This is what our life has become. About a month ago, we all got our dates. Our departure date. The day we leave the land of seals and penguins. Departures of science support folk started on January 30th. Almost everyday, depending on weather, a flight takes away more people. All the field camps have been closed. People not wintering at the Pole have returned and then sent on their way back to Christchurch. My date is February 22. So, for like the last month, the conversation eventually falls on, "Hey, what's your date?" And you talk to so many people everyday, that you forget what their date is, so you have the same conversation evey time you see them. It's wierd. It's kind of sad. Kind of exciting. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to see a tree.