Familiarity Breeds Contentment

Though Mum has told me the phrase is actually “contempt”! I’ve been saying it wrong for years! Ah well, I feel pretty content here :-)

You can’t put words on being reunited with people you love. Mum and Dad arrived home today. The joy of being able to give them a hug! There’s something that missing someone does, to the way you’re able to really savour their presence. Much has happened since I last saw them, but it feels like no time has passed.

Went up to the North Coast this weekend - our favourite summer spot, full of childhood memories. Bumped into a couple of family friends, and a particularly kind consultant I’d done my ophthalmology placement with last year! It was only for a week, but she’d invited me to have pancakes at her home! Was so lovely to see her again.

Walked along Portstewart Strand, a beach rich in stories from years gone by...yet still the same as ever. And big rain clouds too - I really am home!

Gratefuls:
- Parents who are alive, who have always been interested and invested in me, and who have helped me to understand what unconditional love means.
- Being known, with people whom you never need to perform for or entertain.
- A happy, but not perfect childhood
- The beauty of the Irish coastline
- The friendliness of the locals, and the Coleraine accent
- This country, how God has answered so many prayers for peace. That this is the place He chose for me to grow up in, that I’ve grown in pride for since being away.