These Chucks Were Made for Walking

I've had these chucks for as long as I can remember (bought them when I was 15/16). A former boyfriend almost bought me a new pair of sneakers just so I would get rid of these and I promptly gave him the evil eye.

I obstinately wore them throughout the slushy winter season as well, but this early spring weather, chilly-yet-gorgeously-sunny, is working out perfectly for me and my chucks.

.....

I've talked about how much I love the Philippines and how I'm just itching to go back home, but I realized I never really gave Grand Rapids much love. GR is a wonderful city, filled with wonderful people. I spent the first few years of my marriage in GR, met the most amazing friends I could ever wish to have (more on that later), and I was able to study in a very good school. It kinda sucks to leave all the goodness behind, but as I keep telling my friends, better to leave a little sad than to leave too happy -- because it means that my stay here meant something.
Last Friday, while waiting for friends to arrive for dinner, I went around a few blocks downtown. I'm glad I did, because I've always loved the architecture of the buildings. I mostly stuck to the Rosa Parks Circle and tried to capture the most of this beautiful afternoon in downtown GR.

It is unfortunate that GR is so far away from the Philippines though. Sometimes I wish that it was just a simple bus ride away (more importantly, that it would be just as cheap to fly here as it would be if I could just hop on a bus to get here -- if that were at all possible). But I will never be truly far away from my friends here, in the same way I was never truly far away from my friends back home. Life will not quite be the same without my GR friends though. And -- oh boy -- I am going to miss them.

I am torn between wanting to go home right this very second to be with my husband and my in laws (now more than ever) and staying for just a little longer to be with my friends. I truly was not expecting to find friends like these guys, and I am reminded of what happens whenever the Lord takes control of my life. I can't believe we won't be able to see each other as often anymore, I hate that I won't be here for the birth my godchild, it annoys me to death that I won't be here to play pusoy dos with them anymore (haha), and it breaks my heart that we all can't be together and just laugh, dance, scream, and be quiet.

So I'm going to take my chucks and I'm going to walk away from all this to walk towards all of that. Because that's what people do. They move on and live the rest of their lives. Oh, how I hate growing up. :-(