where is my home?

via

oh. boy.
Can I just tell you how many emotions I felt over this past weekend??
No?
Well, sorry, but this my blog and I'm gonna tell you anyway.

We just came back from a super short trip to Massachusetts this weekend, but a super great one.

Here's a little back story for you:
When we lived in MA, Mike was a teacher and a coach for a Christian high school.  He's a pretty amazing guy,  who knows how to love people and make them feel special.  That's what makes him so darn special.  And it's not a show.  He's sincere.  He down-right l.o.v.e.s. the kids he taught/coached (note:  I said "loves"...it's never stopped for them since the first day).  He wants the best for these kids (I say "kids"...they are all either about to go into college/real life, in college/real life, or have graduated college) and that's not ever stopped either.

So one of those "kids" was graduating from high school this past Saturday.  We were invited.  And we couldn't say no.  This amazing young man, named Eric, was worth this super short trip.  And it makes sense that his family is amazing and super worth it.  They are as close to family as you could get.

This celebration allowed us the opportunity to see people (whom we love DEARLY) we hadn't seen in, literally, y-e-a-r-s.  And holy cow.  I forgot how much they mean to me.  Isn't that bad?  Here we left MA four years ago, and it was because of those relationships, me mourning that temporary loss, that I entered a non-clinical depression for the first year.  I cried for months.  And now that my life here is smooth sailing and working like a well-oiled machine...and now that I have great people that surround me....and now that I'm in the swing of things down here in NEPA....I forgot.   My MA "family" means the world to me.  They understand that I'm just a (very) weird individual... and they embrace that...fully.  In fact, they crave it....and they tell me they miss it.  And it makes me feel so....at home.

Home is in MA.
But home is also in PA.
Which give me confidence that someday, NY will start to feel like home, too.

Thank you, Lord, for this trip.  Short and sweet.  And wonderfully wonderful.

There's no place like home.
And I love that.