What Do I Do Now That You're Gone?

So, a dear friend of mine, Rachel, just left to be a "Volunteen" at St. Jude's Children Hospital for a month. It's a rather bittersweet thing because, well, it's all the way in Memphis, Tennessee. Hundreds of miles away.

Call me nostalgic, but it took me until now to realize how very constant she's been in my life. Always there in church making disruptions. Spilling things. Laughing when Joshua Jones jerked awake in the Lords' Supper. Now, for a month of Sundays and Wednesdays, she won't be there making those disruptions. For a month, I won't be able to go to her house and watch America's Next Top Model, or make really good chip dip, or watch cheesy romance movies.

If I had to describe this month, I would most definitely call it a litmus test. While Rach is only going to be gone for a month this time, in two months' time she'll be gone for four years. To UNC Chapel Hill. Yeah, there'll be visits and breaks, etc. But, it will never be the same as it is now.

I honestly don't know why I'm getting all..emotional..over this. I was and have always been the one that was all "life changes. deal with it." Now that my world is changing, I'm finding it's not too easy to accept.

For the next few days, I'm going to have to acquaint myself with this Rachel-less world. Maybe I'll learn to accept it, but I'll never love it nearly as much as the one with Rachel in it..