Joyful in hope

Hey friends ,

It has once again been a while, and once again this while has been rather eventful. I’m thousands and thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean at the moment, watching “Valentine’s Day” on a Lufthansa aircraft, with an iPod set on shuffle, a laptop in my lap, a mind set on the future, and a bittersweet taste in my mouth caused by much more than plane food.

I want to say that I’m heading home, but I’m not certain about where home is anymore. Your place of birth, the town you where brought up in, the place where you feel you actually grew up. The place where everyone knows both you and your family, where the waitors know how you like your coffee, the barmen know which beer you prefer, and the local store clerks know at what age you were potty trained because your parents stopped buying diapers. Or is it the place where the people around you who were not long ago strangers know all or at least most of this information because they cared enough about getting to know you to remember when you told them about it? Right now, it can be one of those, neither, or both as far as I’m concerned.

When I think of how much I have learned, all the friendships I have made, and how many people have gone in and out of my life, it has been a very long year. But looking at the state of things in Croatia, in my “home”town, and the relationships with friends and family, the year couldn’t have been shorter. Both have perks and shortcomings to them.

Still, short or long, this has been the best year so far. Judging from prior experience, a part of what I’ve learned will fade, and a lot of the people that are in my life right now will not be here after a while, for one reason or the other. Some people say that that’s how you know what and who actually matters.

Whatever happens, I’m looking forward to the future, and potentially finding out the answers to the questions buzzing around my mind right now.

Someone once said that we should be joyful in hope. I like that one. Actually, I might just make it the title of this post... :)

A presto, amici!