Sunday, February 14, 2010

What I L.O.V.E.


The last few weeks I have become increasingly aware of my love for certain things. Living a whole sea away from everything that I know has heightened my awareness of the things I truly love. As I laid in bed on Valentines Eve, I couldn't help but think about all the things I love. So I thought today would be a perfect day to share some of the things I love. Some are truly insightful and others are little things that make me smile. But at the end of the day, I would say I love them all.

1. First and foremost is my family. I just got off a skype call with my parents and probably ten minutes of the hour was me professing my profound love for them. I know I am the person I am today because of the loving family I grew up in. I am one of the rare children in our society that has my two biological parents as the head of my household. I was one of the rare children that had household chores and curfews growing up. Sometimes I resented them for the restrictions I felt they were putting on my freedom, but as I have matured over the years I am grateful for the chores and curfews. I know that even though I was one of the few kids who had chores everyday and couldn't go out every weekend because I had farm responsibilities, I also know I am one of the few who has utmost respect for others, knows what true responsibility means, and has learned by example what it means to put others first. I would never trade all the things I have learned from my family for anything. I know things can be replaced, but my family could NEVER be replaced. They are safely secured at the core of my heart and if anything happened to anyone of them I would be devastated.

2. Secondly of course, is my friends. Being many miles away and in a time zone 6 hours different than all my friends has already been an interesting experience. I have learned who wants to make the effort to still be an integral part of my life even if only through stories and who might think about me once a week. I have learned how much I want to be physically present with some of my friends when they skype or email me with upsetting or glorious news. But by not being able to be there physically, I have also learned how to help others celebrate or cope via the technology our generation is blessed to have. One thing I greatly miss is the ability to send a text or call someone when I think of them. Many times throughout the day I wish I could tell one of my friends about an experience I am having or something I just saw on the street. But I am still very fortunate to have other avenues of talking to my friends. So for all of you who haven't gotten skype yet to talk to me, I know who you are and want you to get it ASAP so I can tell you when I have a daily reminder of you! So get it and leave it on whenever you are there!

3. Certain American Foods. Probably the thing I am most excited about is coming home during sweet corn season. I can not wait to eat through my fair share of cobs this summer. I also miss premixed boxes. For those of you who have not been in a grocery store in a foreign country, you will be amazed by how few pre-made things there are. To give you a good visual, I want you to walk down the brownie aisle the next time you are in the store and count how many different brands and varieties of brownies there are. Now imagine one box, I almost didn't see it when I went in search of a brownie mix to satisfy my craving. There was one variety of Betty Crocker brownies wedged between the one cake mix and four muffin mixes. And to add to the visual imagine them all being 3 times as much as they are now. My brownie mix cost 2 pounds which is as much as the shrimp or chicken in the store! That is outrageous for a brownie mix.. but I still got it. haha I also couldn't finish this paragraph without adding a sentence or two about my favorite food in the world. My skippy double chunky reduced fat peanut butter. Now that is something I will miss in Ireland.. after the two cans I brought with me are gone.. haha But that might be soon since I am already almost through one.. So, if anyone is thinking of sending me a care package make sure to include my favorite peanut butter!

4. The rush of love I feel when I breathe in deeply and look around Coe's campus. I absolutely love Coe and miss walking out into the quad and seeing the gorgeous brick buildings that I have made so many memories in. I have always loved walking around Coe's campus and will definitely love to set foot on it again.

5. The love and sense of comfort I feel when I see all the stars shining brightly on my farm at night. I have always loved getting home and walking inside while starring at the stars. There is a feeling of belonging you get when you see so many bright beacons of hope shining back at you.

So these are 5 of the things that I love on this Valentines Day and I encourage you all to do some soul searching and come up with a list of 5 of your own. And I feel Shakespeare sums my post up quite well when he said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." I love you all and wish you a fantastic Valentines Day.

1 comment:

  1. I admire your ability to see all the good in life. The stars in ireland are the same stars you see at home. God Bless.

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