Wendy Darling Effect

Well it happened again, I unintentionally took a super long blogging-hiatus...whoops.  Life has been super exciting and full of new friends, memories, and relationships.  Decatur is no North Carolina, but it is certainly becoming a wonderful home away from home.  Seminary is a new season that is helping me to grow and continue to discern my calling.  There is so much newness surrounding my life which is exciting, but also a little scary if I am being completely honest.

This past week I got to go home for the first time in two months, the longest I have ever been outside of NC (previous record was 2 1/2 weeks).  It was a MUCH needed time to see my family and just decompress from the first months of class and midterm season.  The days leading up to the break were full of midterm stress and not nearly enough sleep.  The night before heading to NC felt like trying to get to sleep on Christmas Eve when you are just too excited to fall asleep.  One of the extra-special parts of fall break was that my new boyfriend Shane got to come home with me to meet all my family.  It was also nice to have a road-trip buddy for the long straight drive down I-85.

Some birthday coffee to help keep us awake on the drive

You could say I was just a little excited to head to NC.....

Even though our weekend plans were not super-eventful or extravagant, it was just perfect, and exactly what I needed to recharge my soul.  Friday night we grilled out at home to celebrate my birthday before, much to everyone else's chagrin, getting up early Saturday for a run with my Durham running group.  It was fun to see everyone, hear about their training for quickly approaching marathons, and get in some chill miles in chilly fall temps.  After our run, we went to Rise for breakfast, so Shane could experience the ridiculousness of their over-the-top doughnuts....an apple fritter the size of your face, a maple bacon bar, pumpkin spice latte cake, salted caramel, and cinnamon sugar twist were among the ones we sampled.

After our early Rise and run, we headed to our fall festival tour of the Triangle.  We first went to Zebulon UMC's fall festival which is the church my parents were married in, where I was baptised, and where I grew up before moving to Asheville.  That evening we went to Orange UMC's harvest festival where we enjoyed some good old-fashioned Southern comfort food.  It was great to be able to catch up with Ken, the Senior pastor, and talk about how seminary was going so far.

Snuggle-time with my buddy Hector :) He isn't spoiled at all.....

Sunday was a relaxed day of church, lunch, and an afternoon of watching football (which for me meant napping on the couch for several hours....no regrets!).  That evening we went out with my grandparents to celebrate my beautiful grandma's birthday!  The thing that stood out to me most over the weekend was how much I missed all the little things about being at home; meeting for group runs, sharing food and fellowship with family, enjoying coffee over breakfast, knowing where I am going when driving/running, sitting and relaxing at home with family, and just being surrounded by the people I love the most.  But as much as I loved every single minute of being at home, I know baby birds are not created to stay in the nest forever.  As both my mom and dad told me this weekend, they will always be there; home will always be there, but I have to go out and make a life for myself and spread my wings to fly.

My parents are my best friends and a constant source of encouragement

This reality set in to motion what I have decided to call the "Wendy Darling Effect."  Wendy Darling is one of the main characters in Disney's Peter Pan, and the movie begins with her being told that it was time for her to grow up and leave behind the childish ways of living in the nursery with her younger brothers.  She journeys to Neverland with Peter Pan, attempting to avoid growing up.  Spoiler alert in case you've never seen the movie, but Wendy realizes that as much as she loves childhood, it is time for her to grow up, mature, and move on to the next season of her young life.  I am far beyond the perils of early childhood, but the same apprehension comes with growing up.  Moving away from home was scary, but also exciting.  And just like Wendy, as much as I love home and being my mommy and daddy's little girl, I know that I cannot live at home forever.  With the support, love, and encouragement of my wise parents, family, and friends I am finding new joys in this new journey of seminary, living and working in a new place, building new friendships, and dating the type of godly man I always hoped I would meet.

By the pond and lily pads at Duke Gardens

My so-called Wendy Darling Effect has resulted in quite a few afternoons of crying even though I am truly happy.  Growing up is scary, but it is also a wonderful time of rejoicing in all sorts of new experiences and memories.  My family and home has given me strong, deep roots and now it is time to see new life spring forth from those and bear new fruit!