time for a breather

home again. it's been delightful so far. i got puppy kisses and brother hugs the moment i walked in the door. last night we sat in front of the fire and finished a puzzle and drank holiday beer all together. i slept in late this morning, then went for a run with baxter--it was a beautiful, crisp morning. i straightened out some things with my candidacy process after lunch, then headed out for my first round of christmas shopping. i'm not done yet, but i actually have gift suggestions from everyone in my family--a rare occurance. tonight we're eating homemade chili and potatoes for dinner and tomorrow it may snow! (slush?)

but i'm also sad to have left atlanta. i think it's because i don't like getting thrown out of rhythm--even if it is for a break and a trip home. it is nice to exhale, however, after the end of the semester. i have a feeling school will only get harder from here, but it's also weird to think that we just have 5 semesters left! i know, i know, that sounds like a lot (and it is), but i love it so much that it's hard to already scratch one semester off the list. this is such a precious time in my life, and i want to savor every moment, even as I count down the days of reading and papers and tests listed on syllabi as i go along. our OT professor has reminded us several times this semester (usually before a big test) that we should count it as an extreme privilege that it is our full-time job to study, and to study what we love at that. (for another take on grad students, click here). i actually had a moment of realization during my OT final that i was enjoying writing an essay on the exile. that, friends, is a pretty good sign of being in the right place.

but for now, it is time for a brief break from the OT and from all day study sessions at caribou coffee and from counting the number of not-pants worn by undergrads in the library. i've got only a few days at home in charlotte before jetting off to arkansas and spending christmas with my grandparents and extended family. then it's off on a mini-trip to texas for ashleigh's wedding before heading back to charlotte for a few days. j-term starts on the 4th back at emory. if i could squeeze anything else in, i really would like to go skiing--maybe a day trip up to boone would be feasible? we shall see.

one of my to-dos over the holiday break is to figure out what i want to do this summer. there is an internship or two that i want to apply for, and i'd welcome any suggestions of jobs or programs to apply for if anyone knows of any good opportunities. i'd really like to be a traveling vagabond this summer, but barring a lottery win (made even more unlikely by the fact that i don't play the lottery), that probably won't happen.

i would also welcome any suggestions for books to read over the break. i need to finish the donald miller i started on a whim midway through the semester, and i'm sure i have a list a mile long i'd like to work on--if only i had ever taken the care to write that list down. unfortunately, i may have to start reading my history of methodism book soon if i want to avoid being overwhelmed during j-term. but we'll see...

i pray that your christmas season is filled with joyful expectation for the coming of Jesus our King. watch for him like the coming of the dawn on a black, cold night. wait for him as a people in exile and defeat wait for the hope that they know will one day come.