Let's just say that my planning for a year away still seems surreal.  Yesturday a fellow YAGM started a countdown.  Sent chills through my spin!  On that note, I'm still in the basic stages of planning! Today I awoke bright and early to make a trip to the dentist!  After ridding my mouth of some cavities, I look forward to the 28th, the day I will be getting my wisdom teeth out.

Today was my first day off in awhile.  I hoped for a sun filled day at the beach with my roommate, but it appears that God had other plans. I woke up and headed to Detroit Lakes at 11 AM to find it cloudy and windy.  After a nice jog along the lake and lunch at Zorbaz we headed back to Moorhead.
My afternoon was short an uneventful, I had hoped to mail out letters to family and friends to tell them about my future journey, but have no access to a printer. I need to learn how to do better planning. Today I also made my first ever doctor's appointment.

Our day was cut short with news of family medical emergencies.  My roommate Ellen had the best/ worst luck that I can think of.  Her dad went into emergency surgery to have a foot amputated this morning due to an infection. Ellen's parents were supposed to be going on a cruise on the Baltic Sea starting on Friday, but with this surgery, he would be unable to go.  This is where the good news comes in- Ellen leaves in the morning to go on the cruise with her mom!  She will be visiting a lot of countries, all of which she has never been to before.  What a blessing. 

Later today I received news that my grandmother had complications with a surgery from last evening.  I keep my phone on loud waiting for updates from my sister. 

Now, as some of you may know, I have been working at a funeral home in Moorhead since January, and have absolutely loved everything about it. I work in the office and I read all about the lives that individuals have lived. What remarkable stories are told through the life of a person! 

It's the strangest thing.  I had known that in my absence there would be births, weddings, graduations, and even deaths that I would be unable to attend, but I never thought of anything remotely life shattering occurring in the present., in fact I don't know if my schedule can fit in anything else!  With Ellen's dad and my grandma spending time in a hospital room, that idea became a lot more real.

Today the idea of losing a loved allowed for reflection.  Some of the thoughts that ran through my mind first and foremost are memories.  Wonderful memories of spending time with my grandma.  She made the best cookies! In fact we used to call her the cookie grandma.  I used to go to her house and sit with her for hours.  We would sit and talk and watch crime investigation shows. My grandma was addicted to QVC (shopping channels--yikes!).  Now I believe that we all love our grandparents for a million different reasons, but mostly for the love that they give us.  I couldn't imagine a life without them.  But-- situations like this also cause me to wonder.

Why do we have to say goodbye?  Why do people we love leave us?

There are a million different ways to answer this, but I feel that they are questions that many people have.  There are no right of wrong answers I suppose, and those thought processes may take root in another post.  (But I would love to hear your take on it!)

I too am putting myself in the situation of saying goodbye to people that I love as I leave from this place to go to a new part of the world where God is calling me to lead a life of service.  I know that I have to say goodbye because I am following the path that God has laid out for the, the plan and purpose that I have been created for.  I have spent time with friends that I love very dearly and will have to learn how to navigate without them.  Sometimes I worry that I won't be able to make myself laugh or  smile, though I know friends are for more than that.  I know that I will be able to dig a lot deeper in who I am and with how to love myself.  What an adventure!  I am so excited to share with my family and friends all that I learn as I continue on this journey.  What a blessing to have this opportunity! 

Feel free to keep in touch and share in this journey with me