Thanksgiving

I've just come from a potluck at Sabeth and Julien's. She's graduating this spring; he works for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She and I knew each other from diocesan youth events when we were kids. Good people.

I met a few new people, and had real conversation with others whom I count as friends, but hadn't had a lot of time with. It was so good to just be, with them. There's a quality of friendship that's different here. Most of us are away from our homes, and we're thrown together into instant community. We let ourselves be transformed; we give ourselves to relationships here. There's an intentional caring for each other that I don't remember from my undergrad, and that is different from the bonds I have with my friends at home. If I'm feeling overwhelmed or heavy or sad, I can always find people who are willing and able to listen. They trust me with the same, though we've only known each other three months. These friendships are close, and yet light, somehow. Maybe because we know that our daily contact is transitory. Maybe because we're all thinking of ministry, and you have to be something of an empath to want to give yourself to serving people. I'm too tired and full to come up with the answer right now. All I know is that I'm blessed.

I am thankful for my friends and community here, and for people I love who support me while I am here. Happy Thanksgiving. Much love to everyone.