stay-cation

the wind is blowing like its going to rain.

blessed rain! it takes the edge off the heat and humidity. and when i feel the wind blow like this i get quite excited - because i know i'll sleep well tonight! (although in reality, the weather has been quite weird this hot season...and generally cooler than normal...with more rain than normal - which is just fine by me!)

i just finished a little "stay-cation" in Kolkata. i know...i'm crazy...and then again i'm not (or at least i'm not as surprised by my craziness as i used to be!)

some of my dear friends, Katie and Ollie, came to visit me this week. i know them from when i lived in Mumbai...and i'll just sum up the beauty of our friendship by saying that knowing them is a gift - an absolute gift!

anyway, i got to share Sari Bari with them....which was a joy.
and we had dinner with the WMF community.
and we took a walking tour, and a boat tour.
we shared great meals together.
and we stayed at a nice hotel.
we told lots of stories.

it was amazing.

i knew it would be amazing to spend time with Katie and Ollie - but i was a bit worried that since i wasn't leaving the city, i wouldn't feel like i ever left...and i wouldn't be able to let down my guard....i was wrong.

i rested.
i got to see the city in a very different way than i normally do.
i got to see beauty in the city.

and i realized, once again, that i am driven by relationships. its why i came on vacation to kolkata, and did a visa run to dhaka when i lived in mumbai. and its why a stay-cation in Kolkata with Katie and Ollie was so very life-giving this week.

this isn't always the state of my heart...sometimes i'm tired. sometimes i feel like i'm just hanging on by a thread. sometimes i feel like all i can do is the most urgent thing (rather than what's really important)...but i'm not in any of those places right now.

i am thankful.
i feel full.
i feel like i took a deep breath.
it's a good place to be...i will embrace it as long as i can!