Vacation is a great thing. In a way, my life feels like a perpetual vacation since I'm not a student anymore and I am currently not working (though I hopefully soon will be). But, I am raising support to be a missionary and that is a lot of work. And just preparing to live overseas takes a lot of effort. Somehow I manage to stay quite busy. Example-I got an mp3 player for my birthday and burning my CD's onto my computer, keeping them organized and converting them to mp3 format and getting them onto my player is turning out to be a horribly time consuming, dark, frustrating task. I wish I could pay someone to do this. And I am considering giving up and getting an ipod, though I'm not sure how much difference that would make. We'll see.
So, I've been on the road now, living out of my trunk and playing Santa Claus for various members of my family for 2 and a half weeks now. YIKES!!! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to going home tomorrow! Yet, it seems weird to call a house that isn't mine or my parents' home, especially since I'll only be living in it for about another month and then I'll be moving in with another family (that will be in the house with me. I've been house-sitting). I'm looking forward to it a lot, though I will miss my current place of residence. Asi es la vida (such is life).
I will say though, I have had a GREAT trip. I have LOVED spending time with so many loved ones-relatives and friends. This trip has been a great blessing. Going home is kind of the scary part. I made a to-do list tonight. It's length is frightening. I still have to prioritize it all and categorize a little bit. But, not much on there can really be put off for long. And most of it won't take very long to do, but you know how time just slips by and simple seeming things take 4 times longer than you originally expected. I know that happens to me. I am often too optimistic when it comes to deadlines.
Anyway, now I will tell you more about the wonders of my 2000+ mile journey. I last left you in NC at my Aunt & Uncle's. I hadn't seen them since the oldest cousin on the Gates side of the family got married in 2001. Needless to say, a lot has changed. But I had a really nice time. We had a good visit. In my 24 hours there I was able to spend meaningful time with most of the 6 kids, which pleased me very much.
From North Carolina I headed to South Carolina-I spent most of Christmas week at another Aunt and Uncle's house (same side of the family) with a day at Grandma and Grandpa Gates' on either end. It was nice to spend more than one night in the same bed and I had a total blast with my cousins. There are 4 of them, twins who were born 24 days before me, an 18 year old and an 11 year old. ALL GIRLS!! I have loved visiting them my whole life since I grew up in a "boy" house with 2 older brothers and they are 4 delightful girly girls. Since the twins are extremely close to my age, they are also my closest cousins and I just adore the whole family. We played lots of Dutch blitz, sang, talked, and watched Christmas movies. We got some sleep, but Christianne (one of the twins) and I tended to stay up late talking, so I was exhausted when it was time to leave.
Christmas day went remarkably well. It seems a bit of a blur since I was SO tired and it was so different than most other Christmases I've ever had. I think Thanksgiving was harder for me than Christmas. I was really nostalgic and missed my family and our traditions a lot. Christmas isn't as full of tradition for me, though it has a lot more eternal significance. I've been starting to ponder more what future Christmases will be like for me. I haven't been able to process these things yet. I haven't been able to journal as much as I'd like -I've been starting to ache for some alone time.
Well, time to cut it short. It is late. Blessings on you in this New Year!
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