So this past month or so has definitely been the most difficult since I came to Bolivia. When you say yes to a year or more of mission work in another country, you know you will be missing events that happen at home when you are gone. I had prepared myself for many scenarios. I had a handful of close friends whose relationships were getting serious, so I knew I would likely miss a wedding or two. My two older brothers are in the prime of expanding their families, so I knew I would likely miss the birth of a niece or nephew. My living grandparents are aging, so I knew there was a good chance that someone might pass away while I was gone.
Knowing these things were likely happened certainly helped me be more mentally prepared now that some have happened, but missing out on events at home has really come to a head in the past month and a half. It started out with missing a wedding of a close friend, moved on to being the only one in my family who couldn't make it to a family vacation (which we haven't done since before I went to college), transitioned to having to say goodbye to my grandma by watching a live stream, and will culminate in missing yet another good friend's wedding in a week's time. So needless to say, I've had a little bit of a rough month emotionally compared to the last 5.
But amidst all of that, I have also had one of my favorite months so far. I have had many instances of full on belly laughing as well as tender moments with the girls. We celebrated the fourth of July by making hamburgers and potato salad and serving it with watermelon. We are getting back into the swing of school after having a month of vacation. And we randomly had a new pet parrot show up a few days ago.
So yes, the past month was a little difficult, but there's no reason to worry about me. I am well loved and soaking up my time with these girls. Heaven knows it will be gone all too quickly.
