Words cannot describe...

The card simply read: "Thanks" on the inside: "There are people who take the heart out of you, and there are people who put it back." A quote attributed to Elizabeth David.

Now, I don't know if any of you have had the opportunity to be the one and only male at a bridesmaids high tea, but that is one event I can now check off my list of things to do before I die. Seriously.

I do not know if I can find the words to express my experience here in the Pacific Northwest this week, or even my time at the tea this afternoon. There have been many emotions and thoughts/memories that have rushed over me this week. I know this always happens to everyone, but I have honestly been looking forward to this week since January...it took forever to get here and now this week is almost over. I did not know what exactly to expect on my return to the Northwest. I spent Tuesday in Bend, Oregon where I cleaned out my storage unit, with a lot of help from my buddy Capt. Kirk (he isn't really a captain but I like to call him that)...it was a difficult experience for me as it marked an end of an era for me...it was another landmark on my journey here on Earth. Once my storage unit was cleaned out my personal connection to Bend was cut. And in a strange way this place I once called home and felt so comfortable now was foreign to me and I felt as if I were an outsider...with not only the place but the people as well.

This whole week I have felt out of place...and yet at the same time I have been slowly realizing that the place where I am most comfortable is Williamsburg, VA. Now, please understand that is very difficult for me to admit too. I am an Oregon boy, born and raised. And I still feel as if Oregon will always be my home in some way. I also feel like I am still adjusting to life in Virginia. However, I think this trip was in part an opportunity to find myself and it has come to teach me to return to Virginia next week with a new found appreciation for my new home and place of work. God works in mysterious ways and when we are open He is willing to teach us in ways we would have never thought possible. I have learned a lot this week, about me, about others, and what and who are most important in life..."There are people who take the heart out of you, and there are people who put it back." Dear God, thank you so much for the people who you have placed in my life who put it back...and may I never take it out without putting it back in a bigger way than before I took it out of another.

I can honestly say I am glad to have had this opportunity to be the bridesman for my friend Sarah. She has always been a person who "puts it back" in my life. This final step in my move from Oregon to Virginia and this upcoming wedding both mark the end of an era for me. And while endings are always sad in their own way, they are like this picture I took this evening of the sun setting over the Cascade Mountains...it marks the end of the day and its own way it gives hope, thru vibrant colors, for a brighter tomorrow. I will miss my beloved Oregon and the mountains I love. I will miss my days singing, playing, go to the theatre, and road tripping with my friend Sarah. But man do I ever look forward to what lies ahead for us all...