Yet another semester has fairly flown by, and once again, I find myself plowing through that last week of academia before heading back to the arctic regions of Wisconsin to see my beloved family and friends. But as I sat on my bed this morning making a mental note of all of the things that need to be packed/organized/studied before I head out, I took a moment to stop and reflect on the 12 months that have passed since the last time that I made this trek halfway across the U.S. for this particular holiday. It’s been a year full of so many incredible memories, incredible experiences, and incredible friendships—a year perfectly orchestrated by an incredible God.

Last year, when I was preparing for this journey, it was with mixed feelings, knowing that I was going home to the craziness of wedding prep and the emotional chaos of trying to sort through what it was going to look like and feel like to give away my younger sister—who also happens to be my best friend—to her new best friend. For the rest of her life. It was one of those weird experiences where you feel both incredibly happy for the other person and yet inconsolably sad deep down inside…and yet you feel almost guilty for feeling sad, because you strongly suspect that your reasons for feeling sad are entirely selfish.

This year, in going back home, I feel somehow…more excited, but also more disconnected, more independent, older somehow—as though I’m a visitor rather than a resident at the home place now. And I suppose that’s what it always comes to when one has lived away from home for several years—but I was almost startled to realize that this change had taken place in my thinking. I suppose this is part of growing up—of being an adult (whether or not this means I’ve earned the right to jump up and down and excitedly proclaim the fact that I’ve officially “arrived” at adult status? Well, I’m pretty sure not).

But in the midst of this philosophical reflection on life in general, I was impressed with a tremendous sense of the fact that in the past 12 months, I have been soooooo blessed…in my friendships, my family, my mentors, my teachers, and in the random encounters that happen with an odd degree of regularity on an almost-daily basis. And I’m super duper excited to go home and meet both of the little munchkins that have joined the Beaty family since last I darkened the doors of the home place. Woohoo! I'm off to see the wizard.

A belated but very warm congratulations to my beautiful sister and her handsome man on the arrival of baby Bobby...or "Blobby," as my sister has lovingly dubbed this round little feller.

Officially a family! Blobby's grand entry.

Bobby's first bath at home...an event which appears to be deeply fascinating to his wee philosophical mind.

Sleeping is Blobby's favorite activity. It's one of those great pasttimes that lends itself well to participation by the whole family--which is awesome.

Bobby has discovered at a very young age that the best way to keep camera flashes from annoying you is just to...sleep through the ordeal.

Aw, mom. No tickling.

Tonight, as I was sitting in my corner of the library working on a patho for one of my lovely clinicals, a wee little man with blonde hair and strikingly blue eyes plopped his little bottom down in front of the computer which stood vacant on my left.

I confess I didn’t really pay him much heed. Just smiled absently, and nodded, and kept on typing furiously. I had my headphones in, and was listening to a couple of songs that really make me think…so I think I may have lapsed a little, and begun staring very hard at the wall of the cubicle in front of me, or in some other way indicated that my mind had taken a brief vacation.
My reverie was interrupted by a little masculine voice:

“Excuse me,” it said.

I looked to my left, and found myself staring rather startledly into a pair of very blue eyes.

“Yes?”

“Am I invisible?”

I wasn’t sure what to make of this question. Was he feeling ignored? Unloved? Pretending to be a superhero with special powers? Was I supposed to play along? I was suddenly at a loss. So I grinned, and shrugged.

“Well, were you hoping?”

He grinned back, and nodded.

“Yeah. For Friday night.”

Oh please. Has it come to THIS? Are we so desperate we now hit on random chicks in the library?!

I just laughed. And then he suddenly turned bright red, and dropped his eyes, and mumbled something to himself about that being a super cheesy pickup line. And I thought to myself, yes. My sentiments precisely. Maybe you should…listen to the little voices inside of your head before you venture to speak in real time...it might be safer for you, little friend.

Some people’s children make me laugh. Others of them make me want to poke them in the face and then laugh…all in the spirit of Christian love, of course. *sigh*