counting down the days...

Amidst my procrastinating...
I realized just how little time I have left in Italy.

As of right now I have approx. 14 days and 20 hours (give or take the time change on the flight), before I touch down at O'Hare airport on the 18th of this month. What that means is that I have been in Italy for more then 95 days now!! Wow, where did the time go?! (Is it possible for time to go straight to your gut? Because if so that’s exactly where mine has gone, if you know what I mean?!? Well okay, maybe it wasn’t the time itself but more the carbs I ate during that time!) 

Allora, back to my main point…

Lately I have noticed myself blurting out this report to anyone who cares to here it, “There’s (X) number of days until I get home!!” Do I love Italy? Do I love traveling? Do I love Italians and am I abundantly grateful for the opportunities I have been given this year? ABSOLUTELY I am! But am I also ready to come home and see my family and friends, and to be apart of the communities at ISU and Fuel again? You bet cha! I really miss those good ole 50-minute classes at ISU! 

I cannot believe that I am already almost a junior in college. Time is flying by SOOO quickly, why on earth would I want to count down the days till my next big move? Why is it that I can’t just bask in the moment and love every minute of who I am, where I am, and who I am with right in this very second? Does counting down the days make the next exciting chapter of my life any more exciting or make it come any quicker? No, but what it does do is distract me from all the great things happening in this current place and time. 

I would be lying if I told you that I wasn’t overjoyed to come back to ISU and to join the Fuel House mission this spring.  I can’t wait for it to be January 1^st  but I still have 14 more days here in Italy. I need to take advantage of every last day here because who knows if I’ll ever come back, or “when” ill comeback I should say. Many people could never dream of having an opportunity like this and I feel ashamed to say that there have been moments when I have taken it for granted. So i am making it my goal to soak up as much European culture as I can in these last few weeks! This semester is something I will never forget and it has certainly made me appreciate many things in life. (look out for my "New Years" blog: coming soon!) I am thankful to God for protecting me along my journey and for opening up new doors in my life. I am thankful to my family for their support and encouragement and I am thankful to my friends for being excited for me and for looking forward to my return home. I am thankful for the people I have met throughout this semester along the way and for the teachers here who are so loving and compassionate.  I have SOOO many wonderful things to look forward to in the next few months, and the next few years even! As hard as it will be to leave this place, I am thankful to be going home. I can not wait to see what more the Lord has in store for my life and the lives of people i come into contact with this next semester!
Leaving this place will be the definition of “bitter sweet”.

I’ll leave you with this statement…
Time sure does fly when your having fun!