The meals shared too many to count...
Just like T.S. Eliot - "My life is measured in coffee spoons." - or in my case, tea.
So much laughter, questions, nerves and chatter -
until we relax in the space of that moment and before we know it we become friends.
Then change moves in again like the breeze of a lake and pushes us to shift yet again.
To a new place, to a concept that we'd only hoped we'd start to understand and then with some discussion, some conflict and a listening ear and mind - our hearts grow larger.
We are community - growing again.
Then the cars were waiting, the trains and planes sighed with us as we boarded and headed back to where we came from - but we are not the same. We are changed, grown, challenged and loved in this community - this new family. I know we won't wait for the reunion to talk again because I already miss you.
Thank you for being my home away from home, thank you for being my tribe, thank you for being yourself and encouraging me to be myself too.
This flash of true community is the biggest parcel I'm taking home - knowing that there is still so much more yet to come.
T.L. Eastman April 2010
Mary Lue shared her host post on business and rest for this weeks Sleeping with Bread Examen. Her words resonated with me in the fact that due to a significant staff change at my office, there is more work to be done and my plate is feeling fuller lately. There have been more meetings, and lots of talking and planning. For the most part, I've felt much more connected to people since I've become more involved in this way, but oddly when I'm done for the day or night - I find myself in need of some quiet. Maybe I'm still sorting and planning in the back of my mind, but silence (even my own) is something I find myself being more and more drawn too. It's like the extra noise, both internal and external, makes me feel claustrophobic . A few days after Christmas, I went into a game store with my son and was overwhelmed by all the noise and activity there. The store was tiny but filled with kids and their parents vying for their video game of choice. My head felt hot, my
Comments
There's always room for more in my life--sounds like you found more! THAT--is a very cool thing.