What's This?

Tonight I surprised myself. When talking to my mom and dad about leaving I got choked up for a second in both convos. Something hit me while talking to them. I'm leaving. For 7 weeks. Yes, I've known this, but the reality of it hit me. I've been away from each of them for longer than 7 weeks before and I've gone without seeing friends for longer than that too (sometimes nearly the whole gap in between Christmas and Easter!). But I have always managed quite well in these gaps. I guess I noticed two things that really hit me.

The first is that this trip is prep for long-term missions. The abstract idea of being a missionary is fine, but the realization of what it really feels like to leave home is far different. I know it's wearing on the emotions when departing for both missionary and those behind. I've just never experienced it before and I'm not experiencing it to the full extent right now, but the milder form of it did just hit.

The other part is that I'm going somewhere completely new. This is fine and dandy for 2 weeks, but 7 weeks is different. Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it is, but maybe it's best to be prepare for the worst. I thought back to when I moved away to college and the foreignness of this small town 45 minutes away weighed 10 times heavier than I imagined. I didn't know where the Meijer was, where to send mail or how to get to the dining hall to eat. I had no friends near me and I felt lonely. Now I'm going to a country where I don't speak the language, I'm not used to the food, there's no Meijer and I don't have a cell phone. Wow, I sound like I'm complaining, but I'm really not. I don't think I'll mind this new lifestyle for 7 weeks, but tonight it was shocked my mind to think about it becoming a reality in just a few short days. Better a shock now than once I arrive, right?