it's starting to sink in

It's starting to sink in that I'm leaving. This time next week I will be on an airplane crossing the atlantic ocean. I have very mixed feelings about leaving. My time here has been so great.

I love my ministry - were I free agent Susan with rights to work in the UK rather than novice Susan with other plans, I could totally see myself staying there. The staff are amazing, the clients are great and it's been such a great learning experience for me. Ditto for my local community. The Sisters have been so welcoming - it feels like home. The neigborhood is great.

But I'm moving on. It's back to the novitiate for christmas, then a home visit, then back at the novitiate for 6 weeks of integration, which as I understand it is time to process and reflect on this whole experience.

I was chatting briefly with a friend of mine who is a novice with another community. He's also out on a ministry experience. I shared that it's going to be hard to leave the "real world" and return to the novitiate house. He agreed. But it's all part of the process I suppose!

I just feel so very lucky that this experience has been so all around great. I would definitely return to this province at some point in the future if the opportunity arose - who knows! But for now, it's time to wind down my time on this side of the pond and return for the rest of my novitiate experience.