Picking up where I left off last post, my visit to Philly was great! On my past visits there I've taken the train. This time I drove. It was my first time using a GPS. It was also dark since I left Friday night after finishing work. I took a few wrong turns due to unclear markings and exits placed very close together, but I arrived later that night, safe and sound. Liz, my sister and I had good success shopping the next day, enjoyed our time together, and even squeezed in lunch, between stores. We made a tasty dinner when we got home and had a couple of their friends over. We attended 10th Presbyterian church on Sunday, where Liz works and Luke, my brother-in-law, is interning in the music department. A man from England recently became their head pastor. He's a powerful preacher, has a lively personality, and a nice accent. My sister introduced me to him, she is his assistant. The first time I visited their church many months ago, I was a little uneasy. The liturgical format and overall formality was unfamiliar to me and the people seemed aloof. This time was different. I enjoyed it more, was able to appreciate the depth and reverence of God contained in the music, teaching, and way they conducted the service. Hearing about my sister and brother-in-laws involvement at the church in the months between my visits, as well as learning some of the reasons behind the elements of the service helped me connect with and better understand the church as a whole. After the service Liz and I walked to a famous park downtown while Luke finished his responsibilities at church. We sat on a bench in the sun and chatted as we watched people stroll by, along the gravel path. A family was playing baseball in the grass behind us. Several times their ball rolled or was hit out of the "field", onto the path in front of us. A few times I or the other people in the area fetched it and tossed it back. It was neat to experience a little bit of community in the heart of a big city. When Luke joined us we all walked to Max Brenner, a restaurant obsessed with chocolate. Although I do love good chocolate, I ordered a burger instead, due to being quite hungry. Luke and Liz ordered sweeter selections and let me sample them. That afternoon, I drove back to NY. It was a much more pleasant drive than the one on Friday night. This time I could see where I was going, enjoy the fall foliage and sunshine, as well as some beautiful countryside.
When I arrived in NY, after taking my bags to my room, I decided to fit in a run before heading to bed. I'd already been barefoot running in the neighborhood where I live a few times the previous week. I started out, down the grassy hill, with a clear view of the moon. It was lovely. I ran in front of the other houses, made a loop and was heading back when suddenly a sharp pain struck my foot. It felt like my arch landed on a rock, an occasional occurrence when I run barefoot. I grimaced and kept going, figuring the pain would lessen as I went on, as usual. It didn't. I slowed down and started limping, eventually getting to the end of the driveway. I walked up on the grass, then stretched for a few minutes before going inside. At some point while I was stretching I looked down and saw drips of blood. Oooh. That's why it hurt so much. I looked at the bottom of my foot and sure enough, there was a deep cut. After stopping the bleeding, I cleaned and covered it. I ate dinner, showered, and went to bed, hoping it would heal a lot while I slept. It was pretty tender the next morning so I limped around all day. I had a pretty hard day. I was feeling extra homesick and missing my family, especially since I'd been with my sister over the weekend but now was nowhere near any of my family. I needed to have a heart-to-heart talk with someone. The ear ache I'd had for over a week was the worst it'd been, and didn't seem like it was going away. I decided I would go to a walk-in health clinic after work to get it, along with my foot, checked. My friend Eileen stepped in to save the day by randomly inviting me to meet her for ice cream and a chat, as soon as I finished work. It was just what I needed. She asked why I was limping so I told her the story of my cut and when she heard that my ear was still hurting she offered to go with me to get them both checked at the clinic. We got our ice cream to go, then drove to the clinic. We had to wait a while, but after I filled out the required paperwork we had our chat. We both had some things we needed to process and talk through, it was so nice to have someone trustworthy and willing to do so. After I was taken care of, Eileen suggested we stop to get a quick dinner, since it was getting late and we were both hungry and tired. McDonalds was the place. My ear ache, which turned out to be a painful, swollen case of swimmer's ear, cleared up in a few days after I took the prescribed drops. I got a tetnus shot since I didn't know what I cut my foot on and hadn't ever had one.
Eileen and her husband, Walt, have blessed and supported me in many ways. We attend the same church so sometimes we talk after the service or go out to lunch. I've gone to their house several times for a home-cooked family dinner with their grown kids, which always includes good conversation and many laughs. That's one thing I really miss not being able to do with my family, so it means a lot to experience that with a family here. Walt and Eileen also welcome me to "be real" with them. We've had some great heart-to-heart talks about theology, church, family, guys and relationships, education, music, and more. One time in particular I was in a bit of turmoil about a few personal situations. They listened, gave their feedback, advice, and perspective and it helped so much! I am so thankful God brought them into my life. He is so faithful to provide what I need.
I made another trip to see Luke and Liz at the end of October. I knew a storm, with possible snow was coming. It was forecasted to come on Saturday, so I planned to drive down right after work on Friday. I'd worked several extra hours earlier in the week so got off early Friday afternoon. The hitch was, Thursday night, several things went wrong with the car I planned to drive down to Philadelphia. I got a couple of them taken care of, but one thing I couldn't fix myself were the burnt out turn signal bulbs. The nearby mechanic shop didn't have an opening. I was debating about whether or not I should make the trip since driving without them, especially in the dark, would be dangerous. Before completely giving up on the trip I decided to check with a couple of my guy friends who work on cars, to ask them where I could buy bulbs and who I should get to install them. Two of them offered to do it for me! Jake, a friend from church, was available first so I packed my stuff and headed out to meet him, planning to head to Philly right after he replaced them. He did a bang up job and sent me on my way. Being the second time I'd driven down to Philly, it was much smoother. The next day it snowed! Yes, snow in October. I heard from my friends in NY that they got 12 inches. Some lost power and a few were snowed in. The roads had been cleared by Sunday afternoon so I was able to safely drive back to NY. It was so pretty, with the snow lining the highway and dusted on the trees. I had a wonderful weekend with Luke and Liz, with a lot of needed down time.
As soon as my foot healed up enough to put pressure on it I started running again, occasionally making it up to the spectacilar mountain trails. A couple weekends ago I went on an all-day hike with my friend Jen. It was so great to have so much time to talk while also getting great exercise, breathing in the fresh mountain air. and taking in all the beautiful scenery.
Another good friend, Emily, has been a perfect companion with which to watch mostly old, classic movies. We've also gone to game nights, played Ultimate Frisbee, square danced, sung around the campfire, and talked a lot about life together. Growing up with three older, wise sisters was invaluable to me. She's helped fill that role, since I'm away from my sisters. Last month we were given the privilege of singing at our church. She taught me a song composed by one of her friends. It's about the true and living God, and Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. She played the piano and we both sang, it was so nice to proclaim that reality in such a powerful, peaceful way.
I'm writing from the air, on the plane back to NY, from Oregon. I came home to see my family and friends for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to be with them. The airport is a bit of a drive from where I live in NY so I was bemoaning the hassle of transportation, since I planned to take the train or a bus or something, Walt and Eileen offered to take me! So after work on Friday I went over to their house for dinner and we decorated their Christmas tree with their kids. Oh what joy! Walt brought out his guitar, started playing and singing Christmas songs, and then came the stories of Christmas memories and traditions. The next morning we headed out bright and early for the airport. I had a safe flight and was in Oregon that afternoon. My good friends Jordan and Sara were so kind to pick me up from the airport, which is also a bit of a drive from my hometown. They warmly welcomed me, we chatted it up the whole drive home, then met up with Elise, the 4th member of our little groupie, in my hometown for dinner at one of our favorite places. During my visit I got to see a lot of my extended family, immediate family, and close friends, as well as people at church. It was great to see and hear my pastor speak in person. I've been keeping up with his sermons by listening to them online. I got to sing in choir with my mom and brother, it was so good. I gained a fresh perspective of my current season of life by having some time to process, pray about and discuss the past few months with my parents, sisters and friends . I'm looking forward to more new, good, and challenging experiences as a nanny in NY.
