17 Things I’m going to miss while I’m on the World Race
(in no particular order)
– my church! Last night almost our entire church came over to help us do our yard work. It was overwhelming to have so much being done in such a short time by people who cared enough to come help! Being a part of this tight-knit church has been such a blessing – I always feel encouraged and overwhelmed by the care and love being shown, the life being spoken.
– my family! My family is so important to me! The last while, things seem to keep happening to our family. It’s caused us to value our family times so much more. My brother recently fell off a 21-ft roof and only broke his leg! He could have died! My Grandma was in the hospital earlier this year and is finally getting back up on her feet. Our van got run into while my parents, youngest sister, and Grandma were aboard. How easily they could have all been taken from us!
Today my sister and her husband, who have been living in Haiti, are finally coming back to the States to live. The Yoder family has been a bit scattered and might be able to do a family supper this weekend! Another sister and her husband are renting a house and moving soon – close to where I live! Yay! Special occasions like this is what I’ll miss!
– my town. That might seem weird to you. But it’s true! I can walk down to the post office and most people will know who I am or at least who’s daughter I am. It’s part of the culture I live in: you know the parents, you know the children – and the children get to know all those people because they want to know who actually flagged them down at the grocery store to talk about Grandma. I love small towns! Even though ours gets heavy tourist traffic during the summer and fall months – and then I want to move to the country – there’s still something about knowing who your neighbors are. It’s called home!
– my job. I work for my dad as a secretary. I’ve worked here the last two years, and on and off before that. It’s familiar. It’s not a hectic pace but it keeps me busy. It’s something I can always learn more about. I work with nice people – I mean, they’ve got to be nice to me — I’m the only ‘lady’!
– my hobby. I became a consultant with a local natural skin-care company, and I love it! Mostly I love the parties that go with it (maybe I just like to talk about something I really like!) Also, trying to figure out the best solution for someone’s skin problem and then later seeing the amazing results – that’s invigorating!
– my car. It’s the cutest little thing! It’s on the last leg and it has issues (the transmission is going bad), and that means I might not have it to drive when I get back next year.
– my bedroom. Selfish much? Yes, maybe. But it’s my space, you know? And I do like a little space to myself now and again.
– my siblings. Since my brother broke his leg a month ago, he’s been around the house more and we got to do more things together (and watch Three Stooges!). I also have four younger sisters, two of them married. Those special sister/mom times where we laugh till our bellies hurt – those are the times I’ll remember the longest and miss the most.
– Mom’s cooking! She really is the best cook – she’s trying to teach me, but…. it’s kind of a slow process.
– the quiet evenings at home. Doing nothing is just pretty great when its done with my family!
– having my own little coffee shop at home where I can make my lattes and London fogs.
– having my parents to ‘run to’ whenever I really don’t know what to do about something.
– the promise of a shower and clean clothes every night. I can really be a shower hog. Oops!
– my books. I’m kind of a bookworm really. I can read on my phone, yes, but it’s not quite the same.
– my friends. I don’t ‘hang out’ with a whole lot of people, but those I do hang out with are the special ones that might understand that I actually am somewhat of an introvert. These are the good kind of friends to have!
– normal life. You might think ‘Well, why did you sign up for this crazy adventure if you want normal?’ I love adventure! I’ll just miss the simple normal things that happen with regularity every day – the stuff that I think is ‘boring’ right now.
– my youth group. We just started an outreach the end of last year, and the dozen youth there have become special to me. Getting to know them has been such a joy. I’m the oldest in that group by a good little margin (at least 5 years), and they do a great job of making me feel ‘young’ and included – although some of their conversations are proving somewhat hard for me to follow.
These are just a few of the things I will miss.
