I started off my adventure here counting down the days until I left. 119....118....117.... but slowly the numbers became insignificant as my experiences outweighed the idea of being "stuck across the ocean" from everything I knew and loved.
Now, with the time of departure quickly approaching I find myself wanting to pause time and make it go slower. Because once I leave here, I don't have a clue when I will be back. Never before have I had to permanently say goodbye to a place. I have lived in the same house since I was one and my university is only an hour and a half from my house. I always return. Now, I will be saying good bye to people that I might never see again. My host family is moving to the States so when I walk through the doors of this house I have spent the last four months in, I will never come back. It is strange to think about. I don't really like it.
I guess this is just a part of life that I have been blissfully unaware of until now. It is natural and healthy for this to occur, but that doesn't mean that it is easy. I have papers and finals but I find myself shirking them to spend my last precious moments with the people I am leaving here. I have a paper due tomorrow but I probably won't start it till midnight tonight because I'm going to watch Pride and Prejudice with two of my Christian friends, Shanae and Lia. Priorities people, know where your priorities are :) This was the only night that would work and I haven't had any other time to do it so, I'll just sleep later.
I might not sleep until I get back to New York and even then....sleep probably won't happen.
I'm also trying to check things off my list before I leave here. Today, Kristen and I finally tried the speculoos cereal we have been eyeing for three months. We just had to do it. We were not disappointed. There is so much to do, so much to see, so much food to have my "last" taste of. oh, and so many good byes :(
I'm going to be so bipolar this next week and a half. I'll be like "I'm so excited to go home!!!" and do a little dance but then I'll start tearing up and say "But I don't want to go!!" You see, I'm so excited to go home. It has been far too long. But I'm also sad to move from my home here because I have such wonderful people here in my life. I'll miss my host family, my roommates, and my Christian family.
Things will be different back home when I arrive. I will be different (in a good way). I'll have a new sister (the wedding happened two days before I left so I'm still not used to having another sister), my brother has a girlfriend (not used to that), my sister is in Mexico and my other sister has her own apartment. People didn't put their lives on hold when I left. They have had adventures, introspection, trials, and blessings. I don't know how people have changed since I left. And they don't know how I have changed. This is going to be interesting.... people might also have to adjust having Krissy back in their lives....always talking, always singing and always being....Krissy :)
I'm so excited to be spending Christmas with this lovely bunch (plus one more now!) and having more ugly sweaters. I can't wait for this.
I'm so excited to tell anyone who will listen about how good God has been to me. I'm so excited to share how He has changed my life. I can't wait to lay in bed with my closest friends and talk all night about God, experiences, lessons learned, boys, music, future trips to Africa, missions, God's Will, food, prayer and life. I can't wait for the hugs, the kisses, the jokes, the warm smiles and the hand holding while secret telling. I'm looking forward to the warmth of the wood stove during the family Christmas party, the smell of NY in the wintertime, wearing my dad's coat, shopping with my mom and sisters, napping and telling everything with my sisters, drives with my Grandma, worship in the church I was raised, dancing obnoxiously, hot tang, visits from dear friends, long drives, homemade food, walks with the dogs, oh the list could go on forever.... I'm so blessed to have so much to look forward to. I treasure every relationship I have back home. Each one is different and special in its own way. Oh if I could tell you how good God has been to me....we could talk for hours.
Oh and I can't wait to make more of these with my best friends. We know how to have fun :)
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