Home Sweet Home

Mid Pleasures and palaces though I may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek thro' the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.

Home, Home! Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home.
There's no place like home.

I gaze on the moon as I tread the drear wild
And feel that my mother now thinks of her child
As she looks on the moon from our own cottage door
Through the woodbine whose fragrance shall cheer me no more.

CHORUS

An exile from home, spendor dazzles in vain,
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again;
The birds singing gaily, that come at my call;
Give me them, with that peace of mind, dearer than all.

CHORUS

How sweet 'tis to sit neath a fond father's smile,
And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile.
Let others delight 'mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh give me the pleasures of home.

CHORUS

To thee, I'll return, overburdened with care,
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there.
No more from that cottage again will I roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

Words by John Howard Payne

Goodbye 2008

This past year has been one of the hardest I can remember. Yet there were many memorable moments as well. I accomplished many of my goals, made new friends, got promoted, traveled, and just simply learned and grew.

Noteworthy snapshots from the year:

Bought a fishy and didn't kill it.
Climbed halfway up peaks of otter...someday I'll conquer it.
Finally got a quality camera...yay!
Drove in the snow for the first time :)
Purchased my first car without any debt...well not for a few weeks.
Moved to a new apartment.
Lost friends and gained new ones.
Sprained my arm for the first and hopefully last time.
Actually flunked a class for the first time...not something I'm proud of.
Fell asleep through too many movies.
Learned how to file a tax return.
Started ballet once again.

And my goals for 2009?

Run after work everyday.
Schedule time to be still.
Graduate from Liberty.

But mostly...to push myself to get past my fears. Take risks. To give people a chance even if I may get hurt in the end. It is my tendency to do the "safe" route. As sociable I am, I have held many people at arms length. If I've done so to you, I apologize. Be patient with me and yet be willing to prod me if I stay that way too long. However, the blessings God has bestowed on my life and home has amazed me...He has been good even in everything I've gone through. It should be interesting to see what 2009 will bring...

Welcome to Our World

"Wouldn't this be a good time for the Messiah to come?" And so says the tailor in Fiddler on the Roof. This scene shows a community of Jewish people who are forced to leave their homes. However since the characters are Jewish I know he was referring to Christ's first coming, not the second that us Christians anticipate. For the Jews do not believe that Christ has yet come. And yet...He is here. Emmanuel has already come. I do wonder how Jews expect Him to appear--with a flash or in an overly obvious way? Ironically everyone missed his actual appearance. Only animals and shepherds were there to witness His cries and first breaths.

How I wish we could have known and seen it:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Lk. 2:8-14)

I fear that even among us that talk about the "reason for the season" we fail to remember what the reason was. It's not just about a little baby in a manger, though that is a start. It is what that baby was to become: "a Savior".

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born, unto us is born.

So wrap our injuried flesh around you
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect son of God, perfect son of God
Welcome to our World.
by Michael W. Smith

Leaving home for home...

This is my favorite time of the year to be in Florida. There is joke among the natives that we have four seasons: summer, summer, summer, and almost summer. This is the time of year when the heat is more bearable and actually quite a wonderful 70-80 balmy degrees. It's been a great vacation so far, I've taken long walks in the neighborhood, played on the playground with the bro (yes we regress a little), had long talks with mom, slept in every morning, got to see my dog once again, eat lotsa food, and just relaxed in general. The town still looks the same as I left it, even after one long year and my home church is slightly bigger--but still as friendly as I remember it.

Ironic thing is, even after all my rants of how "trapped" I felt in VA, a part of me wanted to be there again and another part wanted to stay in FL. A friend wisely pointed out that the world is not ready for two of me, so I guess I just have a different perspective once I'm away from the routine. I need to do laundry and pick out a cookie recipe to do before Christmas sneaks up on me. So I'll write again later.

Update

I promised an updated post a little over a week ago and school is finally finished for the term! The last exam is completed and the last paper submitted and now I can focus my energies on work and getting ready for vacation. A lot has happened the past few weeks, but in a nutshell my roommate is moving out very soon--though not of her own choice. I have been contemplating on re-decorating the apartment now that most everything my roommate has is gone. I would love to get tall plants, freshly cut sunflowers for the kitchen, an iron rustic mirror, along with pictures from different countries to hang on walls. Hopefully my grandparents will send a little money for Christmas so I can do so or I'll just save up some of my paychecks for a while.

This week I go back to Florida to see my family whom I haven't seen for a year. It will probably be the last time I see my dog alive to so it will be bittersweet as well. In other news, my first ballet teacher found me on facebook and I hadn't seen or heard from her since I was a wee girl. As I wrote on her wall an update, I was amazed to see how much has happened in my life as boring as I think it is.

Today felt productive for me. I cleaned my room, did all the laundry, some shopping, baked some sweets, and laid out all my things I needed for work and my class tomorrow. So now it's off to bed I go...

Tradition!

I love Fiddler on the Roof! One of my favorite things about the film I think is how the Jewish culture is so grounded in their traditions. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed how family oriented the holidays tend to be? Sometimes it makes hard I think, because I'm at an age where I can't participate in many traditions my family had growing up. We would always put up the tree, for example, the day after Thanksgiving. For the past 4 years I have been unable to do so. Heck, I haven't even been home for Thanksgiving in the past four years. Yet, I'm grateful that my boss is letting me go so long for Christmas considering the little amount of seniority I have.

Though I have been thinking maybe it is time to start my own traditions, but I have no idea what. I want to enjoy the life that I have and maybe this is one way to do so.

One more week...

and school will be over. It is hectic and crazy to say the least. A lot is going on in my life now, but have patience. I'll be back in a week.