Goodbyes

Last night was our commissioning ceremony. We had the opportunity to invite friends and family, which was wonderful! My mom and younger brother Dan were able to make it down to St. Louis, and it really was very meaningful to me to spend a decent amount of time with them just prior to leaving for Malawi; I am so grateful I had that time to spend with them.

I am particularly grateful for the way the goodbye went with my mom. Over the past few weeks, there had been some tension building up between her and I. I think both of us were feeling various emotions as my departure date drew near, and it was pushing us apart. I wanted more independence, and my mom wanted to offer me more. Both are good things, but when they are in conflict with each other, they can be frustrating for anyone. Luckily, my mom and I were able to share a few various conversations, notes, and times together, and we were able to get on the same page with things. I also feel like I, for the first time, came to a decent appreciation of all that my mom has given me. I was so busy being frustrated by all that she was trying to offer me, that I was failing to appreciate how lucky I have been and how lucky I am to have such a supportive person in my life. In several ways, I feel that the struggle over the past few weeks brought her and I closer together as we communicated to each other where we were comeing from. And in some ways, I can see this adventure in Africa as an opporutnity to bring my mom and I even closer; this is a great hope of mine, though, I know it will be hard to balance it with all my work and experiences in Malawi.

Molly, Matt, and I also had several wonderful friends come to our commissioning, which was absolutely encouraging and stabilizing for me! Our friends Anne Lustig, Anne Johnson, Beth Schroeder, Colin Gerker, and Gordon Schweitzer all came to our commissioning, and then again came on Sunday to hang out with us/take us around St. Louis before we leave tomorrow. Spending time with them was a great treat, and was very energizing before our trip. It was a tremendous gift for them to come and be with us; thank you.

Now I must finish up packing and get to sleep!