Bittersweet Memories...

This day always seemed so far away.  Today I'm having a "going away" party as I'll be leaving Spokane in exactly 7 days.  Don't know where all the time went, but the days were spent well.  I've been getting excited to celebrate my adventure with friends, but now that the time approaches, I want time to creep slower than it ever has.  It's going to be very hard to say goodbye to the friends that I've made here, but I know that I'll be back to see them again.  I have been planning to go into the Peace Corps for about two years now, but saying goodbye makes it so much more real.  There's been days here that I wish could have lasted forever, times where I was lonely, weeks where I anxiously waited for my departure date, celebrations where I smiled and laughed for hours.  These are bittersweet memories, knowing that I've been blessed to experience all these things, but sad to give them all up.  I look forward to what's in store for me in the future and I can't wait to be in Nicaragua, but I'm leaving pieces of my heart that are scattered throughout Washington, Oregon, Tennessee, Arizona, Colorado, and wherever else my family and friends are.