고생 끝에 낙이 온다

"After troubles comes happiness," or that's the extent of it, I suppose. It's been a rough few weeks since Christmas break with the boys, to say the least. It really felt like things spiraled out of control, and the boys showed me how capable they are of trying my patience. Changes have been made, and it seems like as far as the job, things are on the upswing. I like that proverb a lot, and it seems like that's kind of been the theme for me for a while now.

Suffice to say, I'm happy. The island is still freezing, much to my dismay, but I'm still in the same personal groove I found when I got back to Korea. I get off campus often to read and write, and I'm trying to enjoy the beauty of the island. I'm going to Japan in about a week, and I just booked a trip to Nepal for May. All is well here.

I've been having a lot of Skype and FaceTime sessions, and I've got a few pen pals at this point. The contact with home has been really nice, and I feel missed, which is really uplifting to feel. I miss everyone a lot, too, wholeheartedly, and talking to people from home really makes my days. Time is going by more quickly than ever, and I'm certain it will only continue to go by faster.

I'm certain now that I'll miss it here when I'm gone. Despite all previous admissions, due to some administrative difficulties, it's beginning to look like my tenure in Korea will end in June. That's not to say I've made a decision, but it's most likely that I won't be back. It's kind of out of my control, but I'm really not all that sad. On to something different. It's crazy the change that's occurred in my brain in a short few months. Not knowing isn't nearly as terrifying as it was coming out of college. I don't wonder every day and let it nag at me constantly. I'm working to figure out what I'm going to be doing in the coming year, but that's just it. It's not going to go any faster or be any more efficient if I'm constantly worrying about it.

Baseball season is drawing near, and I'm as excited as ever. Pitchers and catchers report in 10 days. I'm already dreaming of being home and having a hot dog at the ballpark. I'm going to have to force myself to watch the games delayed and get out when the weather starts to get nice! Getting my boys out to play some baseball on the weekends should start happening. I hope the Cardinals have an open spot at Spring Training come 2016. I'll be ready.

I can already feel the time dwindling. It won't be long before I'm on a plane to Japan, to the DMZ, to Nepal, and finally home. It's a lot of activity for a few months, but I've never lacked in the scheduling department. I wonder when my body will catch up with my desire to keep doing things. My knee already slows me down a bit, but I figure I can keep doing twenty hour itineraries for flights at least until I'm 75 right? Especially with advanced medical technology. I guess we'll see.

That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading, as always.