Hello Monday

      Happy Monday Tuesday from Alabama

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment. Only, I’m posting mine on Tuesday because I was a little out of pocket yesterday, due to having a 24+ journey from Senegal back home to the US. So here we go..

 What’s on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Things like...

Seniors - Oh how I love this class. I will so miss working with these kids. I’m so proud of them and the work they put in to make it to this point. It was such a gift to work with their class for so many years!

Leaving Senegal - The decision to leave wasn’t one I made lightly. It is something I’ve been thinking about on and off for a while, and seriously considering for the past 2 years. And when the time came to tell my principal my decision earlier this school year, I’d already spent time in prayer and even told God for me to take this step, then He’d have to make certain things either happen (or not happen). And He did. God made the decision perfectly clear for me! 

So, with that said…

Even though, this move is 100% God lead, it was still difficult to leave. My feelings/emotions have been all over the place, y’all. This is the longest I’d ever lived anywhere. This is the place I lived the majority of my adult life after college. This is the place where I made amazing friends. This is the place where I met and taught over 100 students, each who stole a piece of my heart. This is the place where God placed a dream on my heart to start a class to reach a group of students who had no other schooling option (at the time) AND where He allowed me to see that dream become a reality. This is the place that I called home. So yeah… It was hard. And that’s okay. It’s okay to feel a little sad at times about leaving. It was such a huge part of my life for such a long time. And just because I’m looking forward to my new job and just because I’m excited to see my nieces (and the rest of my family too, of course), that doesn’t mean the sadness will automatically go away. 

Anywho, I’ll step down off my soapbox now and get back to this post. Want to know what else is on my mind? 

Luggage - I was in the middle of packing, or prepping to pack, and trying to decide what to (or not to) take back to the US with me when a sweet friend said “hey, we’re going to be driving to Birmingham in July. How far are you from there? We could bring a bag for you. Maybe even 2.” Y’all… That made packing so very much easier! So I packed two duffels with stuff I wouldn’t need right away (things like warmer clothes, school/classroom stuff, household decor, dress shoes for work, etc.) and brought them over to the school’s office where my friend picked them up the other day. Yay! :)

Oh, and speaking of packing… Want to see what it looked like before I started? Or rather, after I’d chosen what I thought I wanted to pack… For the last couple months, I’d been just throwing stuff in a suitcase if I thought I might want to pack it. Then, my plan was to sort through it later, actually pack it neatly, and if necessary, to make final cuts. However, thankfully, I didn’t have to make too many “cuts” while packing :)

I shared the picture below on Facebook last week, pointing out that I’d seen a much larger ridiculously expensive, but still including the classic, brightly colored Senegalese fishing boat in a store a while back. However, due to its price and its impractical size/weight, I chose not to buy it. However I kept thinking about it… Fast forward to a week ago when a sweet mom of students at our school (who’s also an Italian AG missionary which is a fun coincidence), gave me this painting that she, herself, paint d as a goodbye gift to me. And not only did she give me a gift that was something I really wanted (but hadn’t told anyone about), but she included the sweetest note too. Such a nice surprise gift :)

Flights - They went well. I flew from Dakar to Paris to Atlanta to Mobile. And as this (below) was my view for the majority of the time, I must say… It really does feel like they pack everybody in like sardines on these flights ;)

Mobile - You were my final destination yesterday. I’ll be here in this area for a few days, taking care of various things in preparation for the new job starting in August and collecting the vehicle someone is generously letting me borrow for a bit, until I’m able to buy my own. Then, I’ll head back up to my mom’s house later this week. 

And that’s about it for my scattered brain today. 

What about you?

 What’s on your mind today?