"How are you doing?"

I have heard the question a multitude of times in the past couple of weeks. And everytime I respond in the positive. "Good! Really well." Then I always check myself, "I am good, right?" Yep. Honestly, I don't think the transition could've been any smoother.
I thought that I would ache to go back to Romania and be miserable for a little bit, but the truth is, it was time. I needed to come back to America, to come home and be surrounded by family and friends who love me unconditionally. It felt like one of those foam-pit things. You know, the pool sized hole filled with squishy foam squares with a long trampoline leading up to it.
I was jumping and jumping (and loving it). And once I got to the end where the pit was, I got a little scared and hesitated a bit. Cause jumping is great and I wasn't so sure what the pit would be like. But time got the best of me and pushed me over the threshold, bringing me to the softest and most comfortable landing ever. It's been especially relieving after having jumped for so long. My jumping muscles are getting the biggest and best possible break.
To sum up the past couple of weeks:
I came into the airport at about 12:30 in the am on Sunday (a week and a half ago) and was greeted by a few friends. It was the perfect amount of people. Any more and I would have been overwhelmed. We chatted minimally before I headed home to my big, beautiful bed. I had a couple of good beds in Romania, but nothing hits home like your bed.
The next morning I was off to church with mom and dad. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the congregation getting all blubbery and thanking them for allowing us to be the hands of Pearce in Romania. (Which is totally true and worth blubbering about).
Then mom and dad made me an incredible london broil (beef!) meal and I thought I would fall out of my chair because it tasted so good. We went to Community of the Savior that night and I got to experience the church that I've heard all about for the whole year and anxiously awaited visiting. It was really cool.
So my days since then have been spent relatively "low key". I discover something new everyday, like the fact that I don't need a match to light the stove OR the oven! Spanish is not Romanian no matter how hard you try to make it the same. And eggs are white. And driving is like riding a bike. Cell phones are not permitted whilst driving a car. Swinging is still just as exhilirating as it was 335 days ago. The root beer is dee-licious. Cheddar cheese is incredible stuff. Reading a book in the sun is heavenly. Wegmans is still huge and very put-together. Golf is the same sport it was when I left. Knowing very little about the latest movies leads to bad decision making. There are developments springing up all over the place like mold on month-old applesauce. Hanging out with friends is still as fun as it ought to be.
Part of my adjustment being so calm and clean is that everything feels so dang normal. I feel like I was dropped back into life as it was. Yet my brain is racked with all sorts of new information and lessons learned. And sometimes the change in others peeks out at me, too. And I smile. Because I've realized that while I was away, things changed. Just as they should. Hey, although 15 year old me thought that the world revolved around my head, I've come a long way. And it's awesome to see those changes, to feel them, explore them. It's as if this huge feast is going on, but everyone from my life here in America has brought a course. So now we have all sat down and the feast has begun. Exchange of lessons learned and stories unheard doesn't disconcert me, it makes my experience richer. I don't know if I'm making any sense. I don't mean to sound like "oh my year was better than yours", no. That's not the point. The point is that all of our experiences mixed together and layered on top of one another make this beautiful piece of work, this fantastic feast. And only God can craft something like that. His fingerprints are all over this transition and for that, I am so thankful.
Praise God for his grace and strength. For his peace that surpasses understanding. And for the beauty in life that unfolds itself in unusual and unexpected ways. Praise his unending and limitless love, that we can only stand in awe of.