Absence and Blessings

Does Absence make the heart grow fonder??

Absence from Dave
When it comes to love, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. It makes Dave and me grumpy! Being apart has made the last month of engagement probably the roughest because it put a lot of responsibilities on each of our shoulders -- to do things alone that should be done together. Picking out a place, final details on wedding, packing up, setting up shop in a new city, etc.  Add to that a lot of stress  and the fact that we are both sinners--- and you have a recipe for some grumpy conversations.

I have a newfound respect for military families.  Not only for being away for months at a time, but also for the fact that they have such patience and understanding about it.  I think you learn that even if you are irritated over something, you shouldn't waste what precious time you have to talk with fighting!! (I had a friend who was a military wife who would dress up for late night skype chats with her husband because she wanted to make them special!)

Even so, we both agree we can't wait to get married, even though our first few month of marriage are already filled with stress...moving our stuff up, finding a job, etc...I just prefer to live life's stressful moments with Dave :) So maybe, despite our grumpiness, I am growing fonder.  It's a blessing to know how much better my life is with Dave in it....I am sure I can take him for granted!

Absence from Friends and Family
The reality of leaving family and friends is hitting me.  Next Sunday, I have to decide whether or not to go to my home church or my church in Jackson because it will be my last sunday most likely!  At the wedding, I have to say goodbye to my baby sister until Christmas (maybe this fall, I hope!) (who am I kidding, I will probably swing by and hug her one last time as we leave town Saturday for honeymoon!!)  See Ansley leaves to work at a summer camp the week after my wedding.  When I get back, she will be gone.  When I fly home to move us to DC, she will still be gone.  She and I are very close so the thought of saying goodbye for possibly 6 months is so sad! I also will spend the week after our honeymoon saying final goodbye to friends.  Luckily my family lives in Jackson so when I come home for holidays, I will also see friends.  Even so, leaving the amazing group of friends of I have is hard.

The truth is, being away from those you love is hard :(  Which is probably why, despite my adventurous side, I could not manage to leave Jackson until Dave gave me reason to do so. So much good here!  The good news is that being away from Dave makes it a bit easier to do....because he is already in DC, I feel like I am going to someone I love instead of just leaving people I love. So his absence does have some good qualities, I guess :)

Also I am really glad that its sad to leave Jackson. I loved Auburn but was ready to leave---broken engagement, stuck in same town as EX, friends graduated...so after a few summer weeks spent finishing my thesis, I wanted out. I love Oxford, but I was ready to leave.  Very few GOOD friends and most of those had already left...It wasn't so sad to leave....but leaving Jackson is sad.  What a blessing!  How great to have a place I love so much that its actually difficult to leave.  How special to have godly fun encouraging friends that I hate to say goodbye to!

...and, as I said above, I am leaving to go be with someone, so what a blessing to have a happy reason to leave Jackson!