goodbye, hello

It's official, all of our Senior friends have moved away. We miss them. There is a different feeling about this place with them gone. Not bad, just different. It's an interesting thing, this 3 year residential seminary program, each year things shift and rotate and revolve. The first year you are clueless and everything is new, you're constantly trying to get settled and find your fit. The 2nd year you are an old pro. You help the new people along, you've got it down, you know what to expect. But something happens at the end of your 2nd year. Last year when we were saying goodbye it wasn't a big deal. It was sad that we were losing a third of our population but it was exciting to be gaining new people, so we didn't worry about it too much. This year it was real. Now all of a sudden people we've known and become close to for 2 years were suddenly leaving, and now all of a sudden we were next! Graduation was where I felt it the most. Last year graduation was fun but it was so far in the future that it didn't matter too much. This year, it was suddenly very apparent that in one *very* short year this would be us. Again, exciting and sad all at the same time.

Now we're Seniors. I'm not sure what the theme of this year will be because I haven't yet experienced it, but I have a feeling it will be the year of "lasts" and a year of closing. Jobs that we've taken on will be passed on to others, new families will come and we'll be excited to be with them, but we'll know that they won't know us like they should. I'm not ready to be a Senior. Everyone keeps saying we're Seniors now but I'm not letting myself think that until the school year starts. I'm going to enjoy the summer of my *Middler* year and try hard not to think of the year ahead. I'm sure that once it comes we'll be ready, and it will be SO exciting, but not yet. I don't want to live our Senior year with "one foot out the door" as some do. I plan to enjoy all the events as much as the first 2 times and not lament or wish them away, but it's inevitable that we will be looking out and to the next step in this process.

Wednesday we said goodbye to our friends The Krouses. We were lucky enough to get to spend some extra time with them these last few weeks and helped them pack (and inherited some of their stuff!) and watched their kids for some extra playtime. While I truly love all the seminary kids, the Krouse kids hold a special place in my heart. Here are some pictures of a playdate involving our own backyard waterpark (and nakedness of course!).

Miss you guys.