month nine.

So, Month 9 -- well, frankly, Month 9 was the month where I was barely in Boston. First, I was home in Missouri for a week, then gone for a long weekend in DC, and then we had our JVC Silent Retreat. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Well, I certainly did miss this city over the past month. While I was at home, I even dreamed about the Casserly House kids two nights in a row (now that's dedication!). In all seriousness, as wonderful as all of the traveling was, it is nice to be a little bit more settled for the time being.

The end of the school year is quickly approaching in Boston, and I've had to say a lot of work-related goodbyes lately: to our most recent intern from Ireland, to our college volunteers, and to a large chunk of our high school volunteers. It's strange to feel like the goodbye process has already begun when I still have a few months left, but it's true. And let's be honest--I am nowhere near ready to say goodbye yet. So, thank goodness I still have 3 months to go. I am sure they will go faster than I can even imagine, and before I know it, I will be writing the Month 12 post!

P.S. On a related note, this recent blog post about Americorps sums up so many of my feelings about this year.

month nine.

making it through. sissy k's and kitty o'shea's. balcony nap. shawshank redemption. packing packing packing. mass at st. cecelia's. target. direct flight from Boston to STL. the best kind of homecoming. sleeping in my own bed. a surprise. lunch with grandma. haircut. sunshine. an afternoon with first graders. family dinners. sonic. nail polish. roma reunion. slu reunion. humphrey's + jimmy john's. homemade doughnuts. family birthday parties. a flight back to Boston.

ivc fundraiser. my last CH board meeting. the first four day week. dc weekend. two really early flights. fro yo, brunch, cupcakes, chipotle. dresses and dancing. wandering around georgetown. seeing the monuments.

cristo rey academic signing. john harvard's. wider horizons graduation. lots of work goodbyes. cinco de mayo. trust falls. stolen billikens and sunglasses. silent retreat. just being. peace vigil. not talking (and it being really, really hard). wegman's trip. fjv visits + amanda at casserly house. jp licks. foley's & dogwood. theology untapped. making pretzels.

jvc new england at our silent retreat.

portland + boston.

a weekend in DC.

So, I'm really behind on this blogging thing. My Month 9 recap will hopefully be coming tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's a quick peek into my trip to Washington, DC a few weeks back. I got to spend the weekend with the wonderful Sakshi doing some of the things that we do best.

We wandered around Georgetown... 

... got fro yo ... 

 

... saw some monuments and did tourist-y things ... 

... ate brunch (and generally did a lot of other eating) ... 

... generally lounged around ... 

... and accidentally wore matching clothes, stayed up too late talking, and laughed too much to tell.

In short, it was wonderful to get to explore a new city, but mostly it was wonderful to be reunited with one of my best friends. Miss you already, kid.

P.S. But I still think Boston is better. Sorry, DC. :)

all pictures brought to you by instagram--because we are a little obsessed.