Well, I made it. After eleven and a half hours in a car fully packed inside and out....and my companions, silence and a walkman playing 5 hours of a conference I once attended... I arrived at my new house in Cleveland.
It's a great little house. Much bigger than the one I called home for four months last semester. I was welcomed by familiar faces and long hugs from a few of those special people I hadn't seen in quite some time.
I spent all day trying to get my stuff put away, and yet I feel like I made but a dent. I eventually escaped the chaos of my and Laura's loft room...and escaped the empty, unfamiliar house for a more familiar sight...and a place with internet connection. Arriving at the student union, I walked up the stairs to hear the gentle roar of a post-chapel mixer going on on the main floor. Hmm... I continue upstairs to the empty third floor and settle myself in a comfy big chair...only to immediately think of the memory I have of this spot...
But more importantly, and certainly more productive, are my thoughts of my week at home in Rockford. I think it was my best trip back there of the year. I spent time with a friend I met during Christmas break and had a complete blast with her going IKEA, Big Bowl, and JMK (where we got our karaoke on). I had lots of quality time with the nieces (and taught the smart Andi what a platypus is and to say, "That's fo' sho'"). I even got to spend time with my brother, which is a bit uncommon because of his whole "work" thing he has going on. I learned that that habit I have of holding a drink in my mouth before swallowing is also a trait of both my dad and my brother. I actually felt like my time between people was a bit more balanced than before.
More significantly, though, I had good, quality times with both my dad and mom. A "kitchen conversation" with my dad (where we're in the kitchen, both standing, leaning on counters in similar fashion) revealed that Dad and I have more in common than the way we stand...and the exciting news that not only had he been attending a church since June, but also had been attending a "Crash Course in Christianity" class every week, too. I was shocked. I was filled with joy...and hope.
I had talks with my mom, too. My willingness to be open in mind, heart and speech allowed me to hear and accept what she had to say, as well as be built up by her words. It was a time of healing in our relationship. It started a real mending to our mother/daughter relationship. And I'm so glad. She has blessed me and spoken God's Word to me. With her words of encouragement and support, even today, she has made me thankful for our relationship.
And now...I think I'll be off. My head is starting to spin, my thoughts are disjointed, and I'm having difficulty remembering how to spell words. It's time for me to head...to that house I live in...which is soon to be "home."
musings from an imperfect human.
1 comment:
I'm glad you made it back safely, and I'm also glad we were able to finally see each other last night. It's good to hear that your visit home went so well, and to hear that you had a lot of quality visits with family and friends. Quality visits are way better than quantity visits any day. It is fun to see the similarities of family members. I hope the these few months that I have left that we will have many quality visits...
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