"So Grace, what is love?"

My friend Stacey and I went to Harrisburg last Saturday. We drove out Friday night and Lydia and her friend Hope, along with several YES staffers, a few neighbors, Stacey, myself, and also the girls we half-transported to home piled into Chris and Katie's wonderful home and watched the second half of Three Musketeers. We ate halloween candy and popcorn, and stayed up long after the movie ended, and the YES staff, the neighbors, and the half-transported girls went home.

We sang "Three Chartruese Buzzards" until twelve in the morning. The next day was filled with wondrous excitement, as we got to join the YES trainees for lunch, and then joined them for their work project later. It was an exhausted three thirty when we sadly left the work site and said our goodbyes. I was physically and mentally dead tired when we got back to Chris and Katie's. We ate the most scrumptious beef stew from a pumpkin!, as it was Halloween. Then Stacey and I had to leave. Homework was calling our names.

Every time I leave Harrisburg, I wonder why I'm leaving. I don't feel that way about any other place I have lived. It overwhelms me a little bit, because I have realized how much I love it there.

Stacey and I were talking about what we learned on the way back. Through the Honors Program, she was assigned to be my mentor, but it's been kinda vice versa--several times I have been the one to initiate activities... We went to Gift N Thrift together, to my grandparents for dinner, and then on this trip to Harrisburg. So it was funny, but serious, when I asked her, "What did you learn this weekend?"

The point of the trip was to explore the idea of doing the YES program , which was why I was slightly surprised by her answer. "I rediscovered why I'm going to school for education. I knew I wanted to do it, but I have been running away from the idea of finishing my education degree for awhile now. Those girls opened my eyes to the love of teaching again."

"What did you decide for YES then?" I knew, then, that she wouldn't be coming to YES with me next year.

"I definitely want to be a part of YES. I had a great time working with everybody this weekend. But I need to finish up my degree first. I have been running away from these circumstances surrounding me, and I figured out this weekend that 'for everything, there is a season.' I need to tough this season out so that I can be content in the next one."

I was encouraged by her willingness to push through this rougher season in her life. I have been there. I understand when it's like that, and I have to say that I would more likely to be the one running away from the situation. In some ways, I think I'm still running away from some situations. Broken friendships and relationships.

Then Stacey asked me, "What did you learn this weekend?"

I personally wasn't expecting this questions. I guess I'm too used to being the facilitator, rather than the learner. But either way, I did learn something.

"I learned that I can't wait to have kids. They are hysterical. I learned that I can't stand leaving Harrisburg every time I do. I knew this the first time I left, yet now I know that I belong there."

It's kind of like working at Camp. The staff are so close you can almost see the bonds between everyone, and it's only been two months in training. It's so tight and you grow so spiritually strong and grow in relationship with each other that there's this development between each person that is life-long strong. I know I will thrive in this type of situation. I'm motivated not to be the one on the outside anymore.

Somewhere along in the conversation, I was talking about Zach, who is also part of the training. I spoke about how it great it was to see him, how he was more cute than I remembered, and at the end, I mentioned something about the fact that I loved him, and Stacey followed up directly with, "Okay Grace, what is love?"

It was a good question. I said so. :)

"Love is when you can leave a visit and feel more beautiful than when you came. Love is undeserved compliments. Love is the trust two people have, knowing overall that they won't cheat. Love is challenging. Love is arguments and frowns, and sometimes bitter words. But love is also communication, smiles-- it's sweeter than candy. Love is knowing you really want to say something but not saying it because words can't really express. Love is saying the very words you feel, whether good or bad. Love is a homemade meal. You know it's love when it makes you better."

And for me, it's made me better.

I don't know the road ahead, but I know that today, now, I'm different than I was before I started dating Zach, and I'm glad for that.