Distance has a way...

Nearly a week ago I was standing in the Cincinnati airport choking back tears as I turned and left Peter at the checkout counter. He's in Israel now on an archaeological dig that lasts a little over a month.

It's funny how life keeps on happenning when something very important is missing from it. My phone keeps on ringing, I go into the office everyday, the sun keeps on shining, and friends meet together just like always. The only thing missing is Peter. He's half way around the world right now and I haven't spoken to him in a week. But life goes on.

It's hard to hold in tension the fact that everything seems normal yet everything simultaneously feels like it's been turned upside down. There's this place inside of me where all the now-unspoken "I love yous" are being saved up that feels like it might bubble over and make a mess everywhere. There's also a place inside of me that is trying to do everything possible not to think about what's missing. And yet there's a place inside of me that knows this is only temporary and that it will make me and our relationship stronger. God has made His presence known in my life more in this week than in a long time. And that is comforting.

Sometimes I think that when you're away from someone you begin to learn a little more what it means to love. And maybe you're able to love more fully when you have to love someone from a distance. I am reminded by a line in a song written by the great genius of our age Jeff Tweedy: "Distance has a way of making love understandable."

The summer so far

Although it's hard for me to believe, summer is well underway. And I haven't really posted anything. I spent three weeks basically doing nothing. I guess a lack of structure means Jackie doesn't post on her blog. It means Jackie has a messy room too. I can't keep basic things running in my life whenever I don't have a routine. I'm weird, man.

As of Monday I have a new routine. It involves getting up at 6 am, getting ready, and driving 35 minutes to my practicum site. I have been going through orientation this week. It's been interesting and eye-opening to say the least. I am working at an acute inpatient behavioral health care facility, somewhere where people having a mental breakdown or those who are considering suicide will come for a week or two to get the treatment they need to be able to function again. It's all been training so far, but I'm learning a lot about how a facility like that functions. It's interesting to show up there and see the way things in the text books really play out in life. There's so much I have learned already by touring the facility and listening to people who have worked in the profession for years. It's different than I thought. Tomorrow we get to learn about how to handle crisis situations in non-violent ways. That should be really interesting.

Being in my Christian bubble for so long has made me take for granted so many things. I had several moments over the past couple of days that quickly made me realize I was not in Wilmore anymore. Today I was talking with a woman (a new co-worker) and she asked me if I lived with my boyfriend. It kind of took me off-guard because people in Greenville and Wilmore don't ask that question...it's automatically assumed that unless you're married you're not living with a significant other. But when I thought about it I got really sad that it took me so off guard. It was a perfectly legitimate question. It's what people do. I think I forgot that. Why am I so sheltered?! It also takes a bit to get used to being in a "non-sheltered" work environment. I am used to working for Christian institutions. I won't go into all the details...but you get the point. It's going to be a learning experience all in itself. Call it the "Jackie gets unsheltered project."

During my time off I did fiction reading. I am trying some new authors from the library. They're okay but I'm not blown away. I cooked and cleaned a lot. I hung out and went running. Pretty non-eventful but relaxing. I had two pretty exciting happeneings in that time period though. Peter and I went to Natural Bridge State Park and did quite a bit of hiking. It is sooooo gorgeous there!! Here's a picture of us standing on top of the bridge:



Then as some of you know, Saturday was my birthday. I'm another year older. Peter came over and made me breakfast, brought me flowers, and gave me my presents. He did good. Among other things, he got me shoes...can you believe it?? That evening we went out to celebrate in a big group. The celebration was way fun. We went to Sawyer's Grille in downtown Lexington. They specialize in burgers. I had the best burger I've quite possibly ever had. I have some amazing friends who made my birthday so much fun and bought me lots of chocolate among other stuff. The we went to see a Lexington Legends game with fireworks afterwards. It was good times!! Here's a picture of me, Audrey, Chris, and Tammy at the game:



Well, I have an exhilerating evening of studying and reading ahead of me. Why did I think it would be a good idea to take a class while working almost full-time this summer for free?? I forget...