Should have asked more questions.

Once again I admit to falling behind in updating. And once again I have excuse upon excuse. Life never seems to slow down, does it? In fact, with each passing month it feels like it picks up speed. My year here has felt similar to the phenomenon of velocity increase throughout a lifetime. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. When you’re five years old summer feels like heaven, literally lasting an eternity. Day after day is spent exploring and facing adventures. Those days feel five times longer than normal and everything is bigger than yourself and worth investigating. However, with each passing year summer gets shorter and things begin to shrink. Christmas comes faster than you can say “school‘s out for summer” and then all of the sudden it’s Spring and everything is green. And in my case, with Spring comes your birthday knocking at the door much sooner than anticipated and then, well, crap. You’ve passed another year and on comes an even faster one. Buckle up and enjoy the ride, don’t freak out. At least that’s what I am telling myself.

So I’ve had a wonderful week. One so full that in spite of all I just said, it felt like a month. (That’s another one of life’s crazy tricks isn’t it? Time is so strange.) I had a great day on Monday, cooking with Maggie. Our dinner was delicious and those last moments spent with people I’ve grown to love were invaluable. We had a lot of fun. Tuesday was difficult and I spent the day in complete denial that I was about to see my parents. Why must everything be made so complicated? Basically, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Which ended up being okay since I had no choice but to board a train at midnight and head toward Budapest, Hungary. I slept intermittently in my seat as the train barreled down the tracks and thought heavy things as I did so. I don’t know where my head was, but it wasn’t planet earth. It wasn’t until standing in the airport in Budapest that reality hit. I was about to see my parents for the first time in 9 months. All that lie between us was a gate that they would walk through at any moment. It was then that I sort of lost it. Although some would say I had lost it way back somewhere on Tuesday and then mid-Wednesday I actually ran into it and picked it up again like you would a five dollar bill left in your winter coat pocket. Either way, I could barely contain myself and once they did walk through the gate I thought I’d burst. I don’t recall ever being so happy to see them, except maybe after having my wisdom teeth out, but the lines between happiness and understanding were a little fuzzy after that procedure. This, this was just plain joy. It was calm after a storm, sense brought to panic, and replenishment of a dry oasis. Don’t get me wrong, I was doing great without them, but I had forgotten just how much love parents have for their children and how much I had missed feeling that. The point is: it was wonderful to see them again. And of course, to see my aunt and uncle too. I had not seen them for about a full year.

We stayed in Budapest for two days (one night). We went on a couple of tours with a very stylish and knowledgeable tour guide, met up with a friend and colleague, Larry Winckles, and enjoyed a couple of absolutely delicious meals together. We really enjoyed the beautiful sights of Hungary’s capital city, which although sounds a lot like Romania’s capital, Bucharest, is a completely different place. It would be easy to understand a mix up between the two, though. =]

We left Hungary on another night train. Try cramming six beds, along with the people that fit in them, along with all of those people’s luggage into a 10 by 25 foot area…and you’ve got yourself a sleeper car. I thought it was awesome, which is why I got the treat of sleeping on the top bunk of a triple-decker bed-space. I have to say, one of my dreams was fulfilled that trip. I had a fairly in depth conversation with our Romanian roommate, Rodica, about me finding a good Romanian boy and settling down to begin the process of making babies (I am at the ripe-old age of nineteen now, you know). She informed me after the passport control swept through that the man who came to our door was cute and probably a good pick, I should have asked him more questions. Well, I guess I missed my chance at romance right then and there, but that's okay. All I really wanted right then was to live out my dream of sleeping in a triple decker bunk. And that's what happened, sleep instead of romance. =] Upon arrival in Sighisoara, we trucked all of our luggage up to the apartment and immediately jumped into action, going from place to place. I could detail all we did together, but that would get tedious. The most important and best part of them being here was introducing them to the families and friends I have really come to know. It’s true that I dragged them (mostly willingly) to about four services for the Easter weekend and we could have gone to more, but it was mainly for the sake of meeting people. I wanted them to meet everyone and everyone had expressed wanting to meet them, too! And it was wonderful every time an introduction was made, every time that connection was united, and the bridges crossed. It was awesome to be able to finally convey and have them understand just how much I love the people here, and how much they love me and take care of me in return. I wish I could do a good job of that on my blog, but I don’t think it’s possible. All I can say is that the people I have met here have taught me so much and helped me an immense amount. They continue to bless me more than I could ever have asked for, or even imagined and for this I am so thankful. And all of that, in itself, is an understatement.

Of course, my family being here meant more than I can explain and their stay had multiple aspects of wonderfulness and layers of experiences. I haven't shared even half of it. Such is life though, complex and confusing, eluding all of us most of the time.