I took a little vacation from the blogging, but I am officially back in action!

Last week was the crazy week we were all expecting, but it was also a lot of fun and there was a lot to celebrate, from the end of the quarantine to the life and death of Francis to Katelyn's 23rd birthday to Paul's departure. We saw a lot of the Camden crew, which was awesome, and we have begun plans for intercommunity prayer times with them starting this coming Sunday. We are officially the first ever all-female FVM group. Since we are both such small communities, it would be nice to be more integrated, considering we could technically all live in the same house.

I had my triumphant return to Benny's after an almost 2 week hiatus. I worked there on Friday (the day after Francis Day). One of the lay women had been there on Francis Day and celebrated by having a bag sale (customers fit whatever they can into a brown grocery bag and can have it all for $5) and basically giving things away. Not to be outdone, I drastically lowered my prices much to the dismay of one of the volunteers who works there every day. I did this both in honor of Francis and because I was excited about heading home that afternoon and didn't feel like being hassled about money while I was on such a high. I survived the 4 long hours, then returned home to say goodbye to Paul and meet up with my chauffeur (a couple of seminarians picked me up at the Inn to bring me to the seminary, where I met up with my ride home). I made it home around 11 pm (my wonderful parents both waited up of course, because they're wonderful) and was revived by Mom's cooking and a nice hot shower. The next day I was back on the road to Casey's house where I had an incredible and refreshing weekend. I was home again Monday night, just in time for dinner, and headed back to Philly on Tuesday morning.

I have been welcomed back enthusiastically, just another example of the warmth and kindness of the greater community of which we are a small part. I have not once felt alone in this experience or unloved. Everyone here is eager to make us feel at home, and they succeed daily. It often amazes me how much they care, considering we often create more work and worry for them than they would have otherwise. It is really inspiring, and I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing examples of God's love each and every day. I wonder how the lives of our guests would be different if they had a similar opportunity.

It is wonderful to be back here, but going home was a little like returning to my "old life," which is so completely different from my life here. I understand that they are not actually different lives, just different aspects of a single life, but the monstrous differences between them make them seem like they are separate. The challenge at the end of this crazy year will be to reconcile the 2 as I start yet another great unknown adventure. I have been thinking about the future a lot lately, which has been scary and wonderful. Trying to plan is quite intimidating, but the time is going so fast that I need to at least start to plan, otherwise I worry time will get away from me and it will suddenly be July 25, 2008 and I will be clueless as to where to go from here. Maybe then I could just grab my bike from home and join Paul on the road. What do you think, Mom and Dad?