Midwest Country Boy...

It's been exactly one month and four days since I moved to Pittsburgh, and my experience so far has been wonderful. I really enjoy my job at Pittsburgh Mennonite Church, my housemates are wonderful people, the city is awesome, PULSE is a really cool organization....oh, and my girlfriend lives less than a half mile from my house (which is great). So life is good! This weekend though I realized that I do miss the country; I miss bean fields, corn fields, and being able to look out across ten miles of land dotted with forests and church steeples. This realization came to me as I drove across Ohio to visit my friends at Bluffton University.

This weekend was homecoming weekend for Bluffton so I decided I would go see the homecoming game and reconnect with my friends. It was absolutely wonderful. I didn't realize how much I miss the really cool people at Bluffton University, and I enjoyed listening to them tell about their studies and involvement this year. Not only did I have a chance to catch up with current students, but also friends with whom I graduated. That was just as great! I love hearing about what people are doing after graduation.

Roomies for life

Among the people I was able to see was my old roommate, Nate Stroud. What a guy! He was a senior representative on the homecoming court this weekend. I stayed with him in his room...just like old times, and it was nice to reminisce about those nights where he literally scared the crap out me with his outbursts in his sleep. Yes, Nate was a sleep talker...sometimes in English, sometimes in gibberish, and occasionally in French. No matter which language came out though, it never ceased to give me a jolt and wake me up. Good times.  

I just want to take a moment to encourage the few of you who read this blog to never take for granted the relationships you have with other people. There are those people in your life who you make a connection with who end up being a part of who you are. This doesn't have to be in a romantic sense; it's simply those individuals who you care about. Those people who you can be separated from for a period of time and when you finally meet again you experience one of the warmest and joyous feelings by being in their presence. I felt that a few times this weekend. Don't ever neglect or take for granted the primacy of relationships. 

I definitely was reminded of how important relationships are this past weekend, but I also came to realize and embrace the fact about myself that I'm a Midwest country boy at heart. I love the city...I love being in Pittsburgh; but my goodness, I've never been so happy to see a corn field in my entire life. So here's to a good weekend of spending time with old friends, weary driving, and Midwest lullabies (I should write a song about that).