It's been a day...

Today I went to the memorial service of my friend Suzie. She was more than a friend, though, she was an aunt to my sisters and me. Her passing was sudden and it feels a bit surreal that she is gone. We used to camp with her family and even went on a month long road trip to Canada back in, you guessed it, 1986. She used to take care of us on weekends when my parents were away. We have great memories of her humor and her thoughtfulness. She made amazing tamales and collected everything from pigs to pansies. For years we spent holidays together. I told her daughter Kim, who was like a big sister to us, that there's something about losing someone you grow up with, because the memory of them lies so deep in who we are,that the loss leaves such an ache. My heart aches with her passing. We'll miss her.

And, on this same day, I bought my ticket to Romania. I leave on March 11. No more waiting!!! Talk about another surreal feeling. For so long the actual feeling of Romania has felt more like a cyber world than anything. But I'm excited to go and can't imagine doing anything else.