Back in Benque

I'm a huge How I Met Your Mother fan, and for those of you who are not, the show is in it's final season which means every episode is geared toward this big, dramatic, eminent end to the series and their lives as we know it. 

Pretty heavy stuff for a Wednesday morning.

But I bring it up because over break as I was scouring CBS.com for this season's consecutive episodes, I was contemplating how there was such a build up to this finale. Barney and Robin finally get married. Ted finally meets the "Mother". Marshall and Lily finally...actually, even though a big change is written in for them, they've really had a pretty lovely and pleasant 9 seasons. I mean, except for that one time in Season 1 when Lily left Marshall shortly before their wedding. But that was 8 Seasons ago, I'm sure they don't even remember that. 

Poor Ted. So sad. So fixated on the future.

For the past 3 weeks, I was on vacation from Belize in the States. Usually it's the other way around, people going from the States to Belize for vacation, but hey when have I ever done things the normal way? It was incredibly wonderful and uneventful (thus contributing to the wonderful nature of it) and so I didn't post any updates about it. I figured no one really wants to hear about the joy of my fluffy comforter, the glory of a hot shower, and of course poker with the fam. Though in actuality, I could write a whole dissertation on the appreciation of hot water in the winter months even in Florida.

Ok some highlights from my super needed, thoroughly enjoyed break:
1. I got to spend a lot of time with my very pregnant sister. Those of you that know Jen know that any time spent with her is always an adventure.
2. I could actually feel my nephew moving around in utero!!!! 
3. There weren't a million mosquitoes attacking me every time I walked into the bathroom. Also no tarantulas anywhere. Pure glory. 
4. Jesus was born! That's always a plus.
5. Two of my friends came to visit from South Dakota and it was so good!
6. Games with my family. That's all that can be said.

As I've said over and over both on here and in person, the break was much needed for the sake of my sanity and the remnants of my healing bug bites. Goodness gracious, did I miss my kids though. I now understand why parents only ever talk about their kids because that's how I was and these are just my students! Why is this all connected to How I Met Your Mother? Because I'm just as bad as the stinkin writers of the show! And I'm pretty sure it's a mindset we all fall into and sometimes for good reason, but we're constantly looking forward to the next big thing. In the couple weeks leading up to December 14, I was so excited to go home. Then I got home and I was so excited to come back and see my kids. And now I'm here. For a while. We're just like small children needing to go from one shiny thing to the next, and it's so easy to get fixated on the "thing" we're building up to that we miss everything that's happening around us. And I think that was my challenge over break. I mean, it doesn't help that my mind is in a thousand different places all the time anyway, and there were multiple occasions that the various areas of my life overlapped in that totally great yet bizarre time continuum kind of way, so of course I'm just a mess all the time. But even before I left the Houston airport, I was missing Benque. Well, not Benque. But the people associated with it. This has always been my problem: anytime I'm anywhere I think of where I'm not. It's pretty annoying. And I think what it comes down to is this: selfishness and a lack of gratitude. We want everything all the time RIGHT NOW! And if we don't open our eyes to the many many good things around us, we're going to be stuck in that attitude. So what did I learn from my first semester in Belize? Many things, but especially to just be. Savor. Open my eyes and take it in. That was my goal last semester and over break and it still is now. Live in today with a sight for the future, but don't let it dominate and paralyze the present. And so I am back in Benque. I'm soaking in the rain, cold, time with students, and typical chaos of Benque because there is joy that is insurmountable in everyday, and for that we can always be grateful.

Speaking of cold! I know many of you are literally freezing and snowed in and all those horrible things, and as a fellow sufferer in the cold, might I offer some inspiration and consolation (I say this tongue in cheek of course. All you in the snow are rolling your eyes at me. However, I have woken up every morning shivering, so my response is to just stick my tongue out at you). In any case, this has been on repeat in my iTunes and in my head since yesterday morning. Get pumped.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Totus Tuus, Maria.