Back from Israel

Landed in Philadelphia a couple of days ago, and starting to get back into the swing of things.

The last 3 weeks of my time in Israel have been the fastest 3 weeks of my life. I think I did nothing but spend time with friends and family, sleep, and eat breakfast (all other meals were shared). And I still feel like I didn't get to see anyone nearly as much as I wanted.

I met a few new people during this trip: Two of my cousins and one of my best friends had babies within the last year, and that was the first time I met them. In the picture is the son of one of my cousins, along with my grandmother (his great-grandmother!), who turned 91 while I was in Israel.

Ninety one. Ho-ly moly.

And now, back in Phialdelphia, I am trying to embed myself back into this life where I don't have 10 close friends, with rich shared history, within 30 minutes or less from me. On the other hand, I do have the opportunity here to do exactly what I want to be doing. Which, I'm realizing all the time, is a rare and precious gift.

Ah, but I do miss my people in Israel. My friends, my family. I often say "my friends" when I talk about the people in Israel, because the two categories blur in my mind. They're all friends. They're all family. In the U.S., too, I have people that are close friends, who have shaped my mind, opened my heart, and held my hand in difficult times, kept me whole when I thought I would fall apart.

I owe my Self to all of them. All of You. And love You very dearly. :-)