On a journey...

I just got two emails letting me know that two of my friends have died. One was an older woman I got to know when she came out to Fortaleza on two teams in 2001 and 2002. She was a wonderful woman full of life and with tons of wisdom. Now she’s gone home and has found rest. The other is a friend who went to university with me. We hadn’t been in touch much, but were in touch enough for his wife to include me when she sent out an email about his death. I don’t know what happened. He was born the same year as me. Sat here in my room, having gotten back from a weekend at home, where I spent lots of time with my wee niece who is only 7 weeks old, it’s really hitting home how precious life is. There is such a huge contrast when I think about this tiny baby who has many years of experiencing life ahead of her; and then about my friend who experienced the fullness of life and who has now gone home to Jesus; and then my friend who died too young leaving behind a young family to learn how to cop

I think it’s safe to say that winter is here. Last week we had a bit of snow, only a few flakes so nothing to get a Norwegian soul too excited by, but all the former puddles are now ice-covered and slippery (and great fun to trample on and break the ice). A few weeks ago I cycled into Hamar, one of the neighbouring towns, and on my way back it was getting colder. The before just wet road, was now quite icy. Having cycled quite carefully most of the way home, I built up a bit of courage (mixed with a desire to get home quicker) as I was approaching the penultimate turn. However, being in the shade, the asphalt in that turn was icy, and the front wheel of my bike slid and I fell off the bike. Thankfully the bike was fine (it was borrowed so obviously my main concern), and I didn’t break any bones either. I did manage to graze my knee and hand, and my new jeans (which I spent an entire day finding) got a hole in the knee. Still, I do recognise that I was lucky. Cycling without a helmet (v

I seemed to be moving around a lot in October. Thankfully I am now back at Grimerud, and I think I’ll be here for a bit now…at least more than 3 days (I’ve been back 4 days now, so that is already true). Plus it’s now November, so I know for certain that there will be no more moving in October (unless I travel back to the future which I think is highly unlikely). I wonder if I’ll ever experience smooth transitions…seems that every time I go from one place to another there is always a period of adjusting. I suppose that is normal, but I am hoping it will get less tiring as life passes. At least heaven is for eternity, right. Being home for the week was just what I needed. After being around lots of people in Kansas City (travelling in a group cuts down on introvert-recharging-on-your-own time), and then going straight into home-days which meant lots of people all day, it was lovely to get home to space and few people. During the days I had the house to myself. Great both to get some muc