Lovely Spring

April 20, 2011

And so months after my last entry, I finally return to the blogging world. I have lots to write but other things have taken priority. This afternoon I am sitting outside with my computer taking care of details. The rain has temporarily passed by and we are left with a glorious spring day. Before me is a bank of yellow and white daffodils; purple, blue, and yellow violets; bleeding hearts, and the beginnings of blossoms on a dogwood tree. I do love spring in spite of the fact that I also love snow. It was a gift (for me an probably no one else in Lancaster County) to have seen snow and daffodils on my second day back in Lancaster -- April 1. What caught my attention just a few minutes ago were two ants. At first glance it looked as if they were working together to carry a long blade of gress. But upon closer inspection I realized that the one ant would periodically hop on the grass and be carried. Other times it would step off and crawl in a different direction. Dead weight more than a helping hand. It was an interesting sight among ants who so often work as a team. Many analogies could be made but I will not make them today. I simply enjoyed the scene.

Adjusting back to the United States is going well overall. There are definitely challenges and moments of sadness. A few things just do not seem normal yet. I am so accustomed to handing my credit card directly to a cashier that I had to be told there was a scanner in front of me to use. While helping out at Black Rock Retreat these past few days, I realized that my tolerance for others talking while I am has gone up. It almost head to because culturally it happened much more frequently in Latin America and I had to get use to it. I have quite a few praise stories to share, but I will have to wait until another moment. For now I will just mention how thankful I am to be able to enjoy the views of this spring as well as the time with my family and friends.