these are the things that i miss...

This past week, I had the great pleasure of seeing a good friend of mine who I had not seen in the past 5 years.  We met working in the mountains of Canada during university, and since both of us ended up being in relatively same corner of the world at this point in our lives, she decided to hop on over to see me. I remember saying goodbye to her 5 years ago, and having this peace that even if we didn't see each other for a while, we would be seeing each other again in the future. I never knew that it would be in China!

You know, there are certain people in our lives, who even if we haven't seen them in a long time, we can just pick up where we left off? My friend is one of those people. We had so many things to catch up on and in the short time we spent together, and all the coffees we had, it was as if no time had passed. We talked about jobs we've had, people we'd met, places we had traveled, and experiences we had. We laughed until our sides hurt, cried a little, walked around the streets of beijing, and talked until our mouths were dry and needed yet another coffee.

I remember the summer we worked together, and both of us had similar ambitions and dreams about what we wanted to do in our lives. I felt so proud of both of us, in a way, that we are doing the things we have always wanted to do. So many of my experiences here, I feel like I'm constantly trying to absorb and take in everything and don't have alot of chances to output them. My friend and I hashed out ideas about the cultures we have come in contact with, exchanged ideas, shared in the struggles we have had, and the new realizations that have come about. 

I was 21 the time I met her. Now being 26, I feel like both of us had grown, and are becoming the women we want to be. Its really strange to me how 5 years in your 20's seems to be such a leap. You find out so much about yourself and in ways you never thought you would. At 21, I saw myself finishing my undergrad, going onto my masters degree and finding a stable job. I never thought that I would be living in Beijing, China. Still travelling, enjoying teaching and discovering as much as I can about...well...whatever comes my way. While continuing with school is something that is still a goal of mine, my friend reminded me, "Jane, you will do it. You can do whatever you put your mind to. I believe you."

So good to hear these words. 

My friend's visit couldn't have been timed more perfectly. I'm learning to pay attention more to these moments, where timing is so evident. Where the people we love say the things we need them to and life continues to unfold as it does.