Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has been a surprisingly typical Winter Break.

Time spent with family included visiting my sister in Madison. Not really enough time to catch up, but at least a quick look at her new place. My brother and sister-in-law are back in town. They came and spent Christmas Eve with my parents and I. We had our typical dinner of a Christmas goose on the good china. We ate cookies and chatted around the wood stove. It was nice and calm and just what I wanted. I'm blessed to have the family that I do. They put up with me being a bit crazy and busy all the time. Even when I'm up till 2AM, Mom and Dad don't give me too much hassle for keeping them up. Living in an old farm house makes it difficult to get to bed without waking up those in the room next door.

I can home to a rush of get-togethers with friends and odd drama I didn't know had happened. It seems to happen every year but I never expect it. I want to just reconnect with friends and enjoy the few days we have together. I've lost touch with more people than I'd really have liked to. Talking face-to-face is corrupted by the  unexpected undercurrents of tension and awkwardness. So many of us have changed directions or still trying to find a direction. I anticipated more of us staying on course with our plans made senior year. I know that really isn't the norm. However, we all seemed to have had solid plans and aspirations. Life just through too many road bumps into those plans. I'm sure in ten years, those life changing road bumps will be viewed as blessings. However, right now they just seem to be difficult.

It feels even weirder to not be buying books or making plans to get back to Omaha for classes. I'll miss my Amtrak trip filled with esoteric people. Instead, I'll be taking my first international flight to Georgia. My luggage sits in my room, mostly packed. My browser history is filled with websites on international travel, volunteer blogs, and language tips. I'm getting ready, but I don't feel like I'm really leaving in a few short days (speaking of which, we still don't have our tickets! That part is a bit nerve racking). Instead, I sit at home working on my parents website and baking my favorite recipes. I made chocolate chip cookies today. My Dad didn't think I'd get a chance to make them in Georgia. But the thought still isn't really hitting me.It's just too average of a week. I bake every time I come home from school. Does the fact I'm leaving for another country change my state of mind? Not much, sadly. I'm still exciting to be going, but it feels like the adventure is a far off dream not a close reality.