The First Goodbye

Tonight was the first of what will be many goodbyes over the next two months. Two of our friends are moving to Kashmir so we had a party to send them off and wish them well. It was a great time of singing, dancing, and fellowship. Every now and then--amidst the chaos of my daily life--I'm struck with an overwhelming feeling of how rare and special this time has been. I love my friends here so much.

As for other news...we have some groups from America here. Some are trekking out in the mountains and others are doing various volunteer work in our community. It's been fun to hang out with everyone and share this place with them. I even played some basketball a couple days ago with the volunteers. It was team America against team India and I was the ONLY girl out there. I'd normally feel awkward but this time I didn't care because I love basketball and I never get to play. We didn't really keep score but I'm gonna go ahead and say team America won. I didn't leave unscathed, however, and I've included a picture of my jammed wrist all taped up. One of the guys said I looked like a cage fighter.







Back to tearful goodbyes... Jared and I recently talked about how so few relationships remain consistent throughout our entire lives. We're always having to say goodbye to someone and I pretty much hate it. After my college graduation I drove the entire Will Rogers Turnpike with tears running down my face. I thought it would be amazing if my college friends and I all ended up on the same street one day, but deep down I knew it would never happen. We were a passionate group and life quickly pulled us in different directions (and has been stretching us farther and farther ever since). Megan got married and became the marketing director for Giant Partners, a pretty awesome consulting firm. Melissa moved to OKC and now works for T Mobile. Abby moved to San Francisco, then to Hawaii, and finally to Africa. Suzanne got her masters in international development from Cornell and is now working for World Vision in DC. I moved to India. We're all in great places right now, but why do I still feel sad sometimes? Why do I find myself wishing I was back in West U 4 discussing with my friends what jobs we'd give each other if one of us took over the world? I think I'm a sucker for nostalgia.

Anyway, I hate goodbyes, but I can't deny that life is an adventure and continues to get more exciting with each new day. I want to keep moving forward even though it's hard. So, yeah, a lot more goodbyes in the near future for this girl and believe me--I will lament about all of them right here on this blog. For now, in the spirit of moving on, I leave you with these words penned by the brilliant Robert Frost.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.