Ch-ch-ch-changes.

For those of you who don't know, I mentor a young girl named Brooks. She has Down's Syndrome and is absolutely the sweetest and brightest little girl I know.

When I went to see her yesterday, I finally sat down with her and told her I was leaving for a long, long trip. She promptly responded, "Me too! We're going to the beach for a long, long trip. Two weeks!" I fought back tears as I explained to her that I was going to be gone much longer than two weeks. I told her that I was going to be gone for three months, and that I'd be back in December and would be kind of like an early Christmas present. We're going to mark her calendar so she knows the day that I'll be returning, and I've told her that I better get lots of emails and letters. I know she's going to miss me; the flipside of that, however, is that I'll miss her even more.

I've been a mix of emotions the past few days, for the most part feeling ready to leave. There have been several things swirling through my head lately that have made me realize that I desperately want a semester away from Wake. Don't get me wrong, I love Wake and I love the people there. But there are a few things at Wake I'm not eager to revisit just yet, and a semester away is exactly what I need.

I'm realizing more and more just how much I am in need of this change. At the same time, there are a few things, one big thing in particular, that I am scared will be different when I get back. Its interesting to me that I'm recognizing that I need a change, but am terrified of changes occurring back home while I'm gone. I'm not really sure how to reconcile that difference.

That's what I'll be praying about this week.