I am home in my own bed >sigh< and expect to rest well tonight. Spent most of the afternoon with my seven college roommates plus a couple we've adopted. They are out for dinner and will have brunch together again tomorrow morning. I'm sorry I needed to get home and couldn't stay to hear all that's going on in their lives. We had time for "thumbnail sketches" as we ate and talked today. Such amazing ladies and wonderful stories of lives touched by Jesus in such unique ways. He calls me to follow Him and they are some of those cheering me on. We really missed Mike, though. He was a constant presence in our apartment on High Street that year and even though he's a "manly man", he is also in touch with the feminine side and lots of fun in a room full of women. I'm most blessed to enjoy marriage with such a companion.

Watching Mama trying to live without Papa brings me into a place of appreciation for Mike as I have never had to do without him. One of my roomies lost her husband very unexpectedly just three weeks ago and she was there with us this weekend. To say she is amazing is not nearly enough. More like "beyond all I can think or imagine" as she works to process what's happened and what's next. They were in the middle of a move from L.A. to Windsley Island off Washington's coast so she is halfway packed and going on with the plan. She has always been an inspiration to me with her commitment to Christ in a quiet but unstoppable way. I am hoping to keep in touch with her through this transition into a simpler life in a quieter place. So desirable to me. I hope to keep up better with all of them in these years of change.

Okay, I'm starting to sink into