and all i feel is fondness

I took a weekend trip immediately following my last exam of the semester to visit some people that I love. It was a delightful time (despite the crazy weather) and I only wish I had more time for more in-depth catch-ups. Admittedly, after spending a year mostly studying/doing work quietly and never talking to anyone without any sort of break in the conversation for more than 30 minutes at a time, my stamina ran super low super quickly, but this did not indicate the level of internal excitement I had!

There were a lot of thoughts that I had during the time I was there, but I guess I will only list the highlights here:

1. It's so interesting how growing older is so closely accompanied by different concerns/desires than those that we had when we were younger. Things that we would have never talked about (i.e., talked about seriously) are tossed out like of course that's a normal topic to be discussing or joking about - career moves, engagements, kids, etc. Granted, we're still quite young, so these conversations will only get more serious and more real as we get older, so I guess I'm (surprisingly?) looking forward to that. (Note: On the flip side, I suppose you would know that the people you are talking to aren't getting any more mature or moving forward in any way if you're still talking about the same things that you did five years ago lol.)

2. It's amazing how you can live in a city for four years and not know anything about anything about that city beyond the enclosed space you occupied. So as much as I can say I miss the place, it's true that what I'm really saying is that I miss the people and I miss the time I shared with them in that enclosed space. Home is where the heart is, right?

3. If falling out of touch in the era before cell phones and Internet and affordable transportation was due to technological limitations, is falling out of touch now due to laziness or genuine lack of care? I am terrible terrible terrible about keeping in touch, so I ask myself this from time to time. That said, being able to pick up again where we left off easily is a huge blessing.

4. What an amazing and wonderful thing to be able to walk into a church service and say hello to dozens of people who know you and have prayed with and for you and vice versa.

5. In the last 16? months, I have met and gotten to know a lot of new people, but I have to say there are so many special people from this prior stage of life that I hope to keep growing with and getting to know for the rest of my life. Will the nature of our relations change over that time? Maybe for some, absolutely for others - but as long as they don't disappear entirely, I think I will be okay.

6. I am really encouraged and blessed to see how God has been moving in people's lives and changing them for the better too - truly, He does carry the works He has started to completion with each passing day. I am hopeful that the same is visible in me!

And so winter break begins.