Coming home...

So I got an email this morning from my Google Calendar reminding me to FLY HOME tomorrow morning. It made me smile.

I can't believe it is time to go home already. These 4 months have flown by so quickly. I feel like I finally was just figuring out how to be the Team Coordinator and it's time to go. I also feel like I was just getting really close to people around town and staff members at work and now it's time to say goodbye. However, whenever I get a little sad about leaving I then smile when I remember that I am coming back in 3 months. The fact that I cannot even fathom that I would be leaving for good and not coming back is again another reminder that I made the right decision.

Today I spent some time playing with the kids at recess. When I walked out to the playground I found little Luisa Elaina sobbing. When I asked her what was wrong she showed me that there was a ladybug crawling on her hand and that she didn't appreciate that very much. We carried him over to a plant and blew kisses at him as he crawled off. I am going to miss her and the rest of the kids so very much!

Then after spending a lot of time finishing up some expense reports for teams and other last minute work things I had to finish before I leave tomorrow it was time to say goodbye to the staff. The ones I am closest to came over to me and gave me hugs and told me to have a great 3 months. I told them I would do nothing but study Spanish all summer, so we can have legit conversations when I return.

Heather and I were the only volunteers at work today and didn't leave the clinic until 5:30. We have both been swamped with work lately and between me going home tomorrow for 3 months and her leaving for home on Friday for a month it was an extremely busy day getting everything done.

Tonight I am finishing packing up my room and putting on top of my closet all my bins of things I am leaving here and also packing my suitcases to go home. I originally didn't think I was going to be taking that much stuff home with me, but I ended up agreeing to take home 25 pounds of coffee to mail for the coffee shop and other random gifts for people.

So last thing I wanted to share. Tonight I got a Facebook message from a church member who has been beautifully supportive of me while I've been here. Janet shared a quote with me that I loved. She said that one time when she was crying about not wanting to move her dad said to her "If you hadn't cried and left the people you didn't want to leave before, you wouldn't know the ones you are crying about not wanting to leave now!". I wrote her back and told her that that was exactly what I needed to hear tonight.

It has been a weird feeling of both excitement and sadness the past few days. I feel like I  had to say goodbye today to one family which made me incredibly sad, however tomorrow I get to return home to my other family who I couldn't be happier to spend the summer with. Then in August it will be the same goodbye hello experience again. It is hard to have 2 worlds that are so incredibly different and want to be involved in both of them at the same time. I had moments (often) when I felt really sad about being left out of my Houston world this Spring, and now I know I am going to have moments when I'm going to be missing out of stuff here in Guatemala this Summer. You would think I was a middle child by the way I never want to feel left out or that I'm missing anything. It would really help me out if everyone I loved here and back at home would just agree to stop having fun or doing anything important until I returned. I mean is that too much for a girl to ask?