Can it be spring yet?

I think everyone reaches a point where they say, "Enough winter already, can't it just be spring?" I've gotten to that point. Unfortunately, it's January.

But really, can you blame me? Look what I found in my back yard the other day:

Buds!

And this was the weather for the weekend:

Does that look like winter to you? I think not.

Sadly, the weather has tricked me and I now believe that it should be getting warmer. I fear that somehow over the next couple of weeks though I will suffer from a dramatic turn of weather events. In the meantime I'm going to open a window and put on a short sleeve shirt.

Chill Out

I have to say that I was a little worried about the transition back to life in the States after nearly 2 weeks in Romania. There is always the threat of reverse culture shock when you go between such diverse communities. In all honesty, I was dreading going back to the daily grind of paperwork and authorizations and commuting to work. That's why I've been so surprised at what actually happened. It seems that Romania was the giant chill pill I've been needing.

My dear friend Ciara (left) with Toader (a transition graduate) and Florin (from the transition program) and myself on New Year's Eve.

I haven't laughed so much or so hard in the past 6 months as I have in the last 2 weeks.

Getting new gloves for Christmas!

The boys were tickled over some of the gifts they got.

I've also been reminded to keep things in perspective. There are so many bigger issues in the world than late paperwork, denied insurance claims, and traffic. Keeping that in mind has allowed me to be sane during an insurance audit and functional while jumping back into seeing a full load of clients.

My teammate Lexi and Costica.

I'm so thankful that the transition back has been smooth. Even though I miss the kids and my friends on staff terribly I've been able to daily identify things I'm learning that will help me down the road. While I may not always be able to do that I'm trying to treasure those moments now to help me through the times when I wonder what in the world I'm doing with my life.

Daniel being sneaky. Or getting into trouble. Or both.

So, yeah, it's good to be home. For now...