What I'm Listening To: Father's Day Edition

Daddy's Girl

Father / daughter songs. There are a lot of them - and some do it better than others (I'm looking at you, Frank and Nancy - that's weird). Today's song is very special to me, as I listen to it (usually on repeat) whenever I'm missing my daddy. I thought it would be appropriate for a special Father's Day edition of "What I'm Listening To"... so this one goes out to mine.

Although this version might be more appropriate for my dad... Dougie. (See 3:54 - that's totally my Dougie-Fresh dad)

Derby Daddy-O

(Lyrics below)

Happy Holidays!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Well, I survived the holidays away from home thanks to a festive roomie, adopted family and lots of Skype.

Opening gifts via Skype

Anna and I decorated the tree together (shown in the last post), then I left her to her own creativity to decorate the rest of the house. As promised, a taste of the holidays in our home: 

  

Handmade decorations and lots of cards from friends!

The YAV bunch celebrated Christmas together with a sleepover in East Belfast. As always, it was nice to have the opportunity to all get together for some fun. 

...because we are so normal.

I actually did something this holiday season I haven't done in over a decade: sing in front of other people. It was fun to learn the traditional songs that are so different from what we would learn at home as I sang at both the Carol services at the Vine and Fortwilliam and Macrory. 

On Christmas Eve, we went to the midnight service led by the youth at Anna's church. It was fun to meet the people she's talked so much about, and to see all the progress they made on the play they wrote themselves. I came home and skyped with the whole McClan for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Grandmother's house... what was 1 am for me was just after dinner for them so I got to participate in (/ take) the annual family photo from 3750 miles away! 

Anna and I woke up and did Christmas together before heading to our respective churches for the Christmas morning services. I skyped with my mom as she prepared for her Christmas feast (it was still too early back home for anyone else to be awake), and then made my way over to the home of the family that hosted me for dinner. 

 

They made me feel right at home as we hung out, exchanged gifts and ate WAY too much food together just like I would have been doing at home. It made being away from my family a whole lot easier.

My friend Steph and I rang in the new year in Paris, standing in the rain at the Arc de Triomphe as the Eiffel Tower sparkled behind us!

    

   

Now I'm resting up, working on getting over the cold that inevitably follows a NYE spent standing in the rain... and getting ready for whatever 2013 sends my way!

Lots of love,
T.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Participating in family holidays via Skype!

I had such a busy week, I've had to extend the holiday a bit longer to accommodate this post. I hope none of you will mind!

As I've mentioned in the past, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I always think it's important to take the time to be mindful of the many blessings in my life, and Thursday was no exception. In fact, I made a list before I even got out of bed. A few highlights:

Thankfulness list 2012

My family - always at the top of my list, because I love my family. Like an insane amount. Some might say this is because I live 4000+ miles away, but whatever. They have been so supportive of me on this journey, and I appreciate everything they've done - both to make it possible, and to shape me into the kind of person who would want to help people for a living. I've also learned that whether you're born, married or adopted (literally or figuratively), family is what (and who) you make it.

My other famil(ies) - my Second Pres family who show me such love and believe in me so much. My friends who rock my face off and I miss every day, my fellow YAVs both here and around the world who make me laugh when I'm having a hard day and get what it means to be spending Thanksgiving away from home. I wouldn't be here doing this work without your encouragement and support.

The opportunities I've been given to do God's work and explore His community - I love my job. My time as a YAV, and at the PC(USA) before that, has been really fulfilling. I'm not going to lie, I have days that are really challenging. But the people I've met along the way have made it worth it. The opportunities I get on a daily basis to make someone feel special or cared for - and having someone take a day out of their life to drive me up the coast, make a special Thanksgiving card because they know I'll miss my family, or even just remember my name make me feel accepted and appreciated. Even when they're mocking my accent.

Thanksgiving Tree at the Vine

For warm clothes, good food and clean water - I know I am really lucky. I have everything I need to live a happy, healthy life. I'm thankful for this.

For hot water - I have no idea why my just-awoken brain put this on the list, but I'll roll with it. Perhaps I was anticipating a shower, or appreciating my radiator and the hot-water bottle I sleep with. Maybe I just wanted a cuppa. I'm glad for it all the same.

For the beauty of God's earth - seriously, have you seen any of the photos I've posted in the last 3 months? This place is crazy-beautiful. It's not hard to be mindful of God's creation when you're surrounded by it!

There's more on my list, but I'll leave it at this. What are you thankful for this year?

Saying goodbye...

So I touched on it briefly in my last post - the difficulty of saying goodbye.

(I write this post in the interest of transparency I've promised to this blog and my experiences with the YAV program - but I'm going to save it until I get back to Kentucky. Mostly because I don't know that I can hold it together if my mom reads this before I go. Mom, you've been warned.)

On each trip to Orlando, I typically try to find time to visit some places that hold special significance: a walk through part of the neighborhood I've lived in since preschool, a trip to the park or my old home church. During this particular trip, however, these experiences were especially poignant - as many felt like a final farewell.

So much has changed in my hometown in the 10+ years since I've moved to Kentucky, and the strong memories I hold with these places are beginning to fade (the true testament to this being that I actually got lost driving home by a once-familiar route).

This time, I walked past the house my grandparents lived in for 40+ years and remembered all the little details of growing up there. I looked at the front door, and muscle memory told me exactly what it would feel like to open the latch. Even though my grandparents moved out years ago, seeing a For Sale sign in the yard made me feel like I'd never see the house again.

On Sunday, I visited the church I attended from birth through college... and recognized a total of about 5 people in the 3,950 member congregation. The sermon highlighting their recent switch from PC(USA) to EPC made me feel like even more of an outsider. I quietly said my goodbyes after the service, and honestly don't know that I'll ever go back.
 

Saying goodbye to places is tough, but I've begun to realize how monumentally difficult it will be to say goodbye to my family. Typically stoic, I completely lost it this evening when I dropped my grandma at her apartment after dinner and it hit me that I won't be back home for almost a year and a half.

I know there will be more goodbyes in the months to come. I've even taught my mom to Skype. Part of me hopes that my other goodbyes will go smoothly and tear-free (which is much more my style, actually) - but the other part of me feels blessed to have these relationships that make it so difficult to leave.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

-Carol Sobieski, Annie

Slán go fóill

We're raising our glasses to Tricia,
She's leaving and that is our issue,
Have fun in Belfast,
But hurry back fast,

'Cause while you are gone we will miss ya!

- Jake C.

Tonight, my mom and stepdad hosted a fantastic party, full of people I've known throughout my life: old friends and new, cousins, coworkers and significant others... all gathered in my honor for my last visit to Orlando before I leave for Belfast. It was wonderful and humbling to be surrounded in love by these people who have known me my entire life. Of course, as usual, my mother cooked far too much food and a good time was had by all!

The title of this post is slán go fóill - which means in English, "Good bye for now". While it will be difficult to leave my family and friends (3 months to the day from today), I will carry with me the hopes, love and prayers of those who have shaped me over the years and left an indelible mark on my heart in the process. It is truly awesome to have the support of so many as I prepare for this journey. But for now I head to bed, happy and with a new sense of purpose.  I feel that I can't say it enough, but I'll say it again:

THANK YOU!

My new family

Friends, meet (most of) the 2012-13 YAV class, and a few of our fantastic facilitators!

The placement event was really great. For the past 3 days, 24 potential Young Adult Volunteers spent time getting to know one another, learning more about International site options, and interviewing with site coordinators. The focus of the weekend was on discernment - PC(USA) staff and former YAVs shared their stories of going through the process, which I think really helped us realize we weren't alone in the confusion and difficulty we were experiencing. By the end of it all, we were able to place it all in the hands of God and trust that the placement we received would be the place we could be best utilized within this program. 

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

Overall, the group got along really well, and I am so glad to be a part of this funny little YAV family. We had a fantastic weekend getting to know each other, and I really look forward to seeing everyone again (and meeting those who weren't at this event) at the orientation in August!

So close...

As I type, I am exactly one week away from the YAV placement event held at Law's Lodge here in Louisville. According to Shannon's most recent email, this is what I can reasonably expect from next weekend:

• Thursday night: dinner, informational meeting, worship, small groups
• Friday: worship, two informational sessions led by the site coordinators for the two sites you have chosen for interviews, small groups, interviews, social time
• Saturday: worship, interviews continue, candidate feedback from interviews, worship, information about site placements, small groups, site meetings
• Sunday morning: nuts and bolts meeting, lunch, departures

My stomach has been in knots about this for weeks now. More accurately, my stomach has been filled with butterflies that have been attacking the knots in my stomach for weeks. I'm SO excited to finally have an answer to those people who have been kindly checking on my progress since I first told my close friends about it last fall (or took it semi-public when I went to session for approval in December). I am SO nervous that the reality is finally sinking in. In just a little over a week, I will know for sure if I have been accepted. I will have to walk into my office where I love to work and tell them that I'll be leaving in just a few short months.

...I have to leave in just a few short months!



Cora and Aunt Tricia. BFFs.
Photo by Kate Chapman



This weekend, my youngest niece Cora (2) ran up to me with her arms wide for a hug. I scooped her up and told my sister that this was the thing I would miss the most while I was away. In the year I'll be gone, my sweet baby will become a 4-year old child, and I'll miss all the giggles and hugs between now and then. I asked Cora if she would miss me if I went away for a long time - she stared at me, shocked, with the saddest brown eyes I've ever seen and begged me not to go.

Yep, I cried.

Back to the beginning

Hi.

This is me.

...or at least it was, about 22.5 years ago.


Floridian by birth, Kentuckian by choice, I'm about to begin an adventure that will change my life forever - a year abroad with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Young Adult Volunteer program.


Right now, I'm playing the waiting game. All of my applications are complete, recommendations are in, and I have 6 weeks to go until the site interviews will determine whether I get it. All of this waiting is driving me crazy - I can't make my decision 100% public until I've actually been accepted, so even after months of personal discernment and applications... I wait!

While YAV encourages participants to host a blog during their year in the program, I decided to start early. During the past few months of researching the program and sites that I find appealing, I've found the blogs by other participants to be really helpful. I've really gotten excited about my decision, and at this point I feel like I know the people I'll be working with at my top choice sites!

Here's a look at the process up to this point:

About about a year and a half ago, I started to work for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I love my job... so don't take the fact that I'm applying for this program to mean anything but! Being in the national headquarters, however, opened me up to the programs that the denomination offers. YAV is one that I had never heard of, but really appealed to me. I began to wish that I'd heard about it when I was just out of college my life was still more flexible. While I was packing up my apartment last fall, I realized it's not too late to make a change.

So I went for it. I put all my stuff in storage and worked up the courage to ask my parents if I could {gulp} move in with them for a year until I left (for the record, I didn't really need all that courage, they are totally supportive and cool about it). I began to talk to my friends and coworkers that had been involved with the program, and they suggested that I start researching sites I was interested in - particularly by reading the blogs of participants.

I started working on the application and rounding up recommendations, which were due mid-January, and had my first round of interviews with the YAV staff. I told them about my first-preference sites (India and Northern Ireland), and they gave me a few suggestions as well based on my interests and strengths, which was really interesting - since they know the site coordinators, they suggested things I might not have originally considered (Guatemala and Kenya).

Now that the hard work is over, I've begun to get a little nervous about the change.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11