Saying goodbye, saying hello

I'm still battling a bad case of the flu--at least I hope it's that and not a bronchial infection. It has been a crazy couple of weeks, with going to Nashville for the baptism, then having our last module. I regret that I was sick the whole time--and I was not able to celebrate in the way I had intended.

It is strange to think that after two long years this journey is now over. I will still be at my internship for the month of November, but have finished my last few days of graduate school (at least this time around). We started the module on Wed. with Candidacy Assessment. It was such a wonderful experience. Other days were filled with epistemology, ethics, and self-marketing. There are no more papers to write, no more exams to take--only the task of deciding how I want to proceed. One of the most valuable exercises was a day-long session on values and purpose. Some of the questions got me thinking. What am I taking on and why? What core values do I want to bring to my work?

Everything feels like it's in slow motion for me. I don't know if that's entirely because I'm sick, or if it also has to do with making this final transition.

There were many tears, difficult goodbyes, and memories from the past two years. A dear friend of mine made a slide show that captured many such moments as a gift to our class and played it to a song called "Add to the Beauty." It was a wonderful, heartfelt, loving gift. It was also one of my favorite moments, sitting with all of my classmates on the floor watching, laughing. It's hard for me to fathom what an impact this program has had on my life--and it has filtered out and touched many others.

So, yes, it was sad. Yet, there was also this sense of anticipation in the air. Of what may not yet be before us, but what is right around the corner.