December?

I feel like I skipped a page or two... or four... in my calendar. Where did the months of August - November go??? The fact that it is actually December is bittersweet for so many reasons. I LOVE the Christmas season!!! Lights started going up on houses on my street this past week, and I was so excited to put up my tree in the round bay window of my front sitting room that looks like it was made just for that purpose. I listened to Christmas music and danced around and sang along while adding the star and stringing the lights. I even ran outside when I was done to see how it looked in the window - so pretty! :) I will upload a picture when I am done adding ornaments, train, etc. And I have a fireplace to hang stockings!!!

Also, the Christmas season brings Christmas carols at church, the Advent wreath, holiday parties with all the awesome people/groups here, putting together Christmas gifts, baking cookies... who wouldn't love all of that? And I am finally having a housewarming party this Saturday with the weather flight, since my house is near move-in completion save for the few boxes left to take care of this week and a little more decorating and picture-hanging that must take place. With a little luck, my futon might even come in to the furniture store this week, which would complete my house's furniture intake. Depending on where I move next, I will probably have to offload some of it before I go... but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, for now my house is perfectly furnished (minus the incoming futon). :)

So, what's the "bitter" part of my bittersweet December? Well, it's twofold, actually. First of all, too many good friends are leaving. Cody and Jenn left on 1 Dec, Greg leaves 24 Dec, and Robin and Bobby leave 11 Jan. Too many goodbyes in too short a time frame, if you ask me. As close as this weather flight has been, it scares me that we're losing so much of the "family". I try to remind myself that I felt this way about leaving Barksdale... I loved the people of the 26 OWS so much, I worried that I'd never be able to love another group the same way. And in part, that's true, but not in a bad way... I have completely fallen in love with the people of this weather flight, but it's as different as the people themselves are from the people of the OWS. Does that make any sense? I guess my point is that I want to believe I will love the people coming in to the flight next spring and summer as much as I love the ones who are leaving, but it's really hard to see that now while saying goodbye.

Part two: I feel like my time here is running out too quickly. I didn't understand when Lt Col D said that same thing 2 months into his 2-year assignment at the 26th, but now 4+ months into my 2-year assignment here... I feel like a giant hourglass is gushing sand and I can't find anything to plug the hole. The possibility is out there for the hole to be narrowed and the sand to flow more slowly, if I can talk the assignments officer into extending me to 3 years, but I can't count on that. She was open to the idea when we talked at the conference in September, but said we'd talk again in the spring. So I have until then to build my case. Anyway, point is, there is entirely too much here to experience in two years, and I'm scared that I'm going to miss something.

Wow, believe it or not, this is not supposed to be a depressing entry. It is impossible to be depressed when I still have so many people and so much to be thankful for at this point in life. If there is one thing that England has taught me, it is how humbling it is to be given so much every day that I don't deserve. It's like my eyes have been fine-tuned to how beautiful life and love and people are, and I don't think that is going to go away when I leave England... at least I will pray that it doesn't. I mean, I felt that way before, and this is a really awful analogy but the only one I can think of... it's like I am seeing things about life in HD now that I didn't realize were not well-defined before. Have you ever watched a standard definition channel after an HD channel and wondered "did it always look this bad?" The answer is no, it didn't, because you couldn't possibly have known what HD looked like before you saw it. Geez, I have probably completely lost you... all I am trying to say is that I think my perspective on life is growing, and that's a good thing.

Bed time here, I have tomorrow off since I worked Saturday, so the goal is to vanquish those last boxes. Good night all!