Saying goodbye to my host family and going through the process of finding gifts for them and saying thanks, I’ve been reflecting on how I really like final gestures like goodbyes and thanks, but that I could really work on giving thanks for the small things during the time I know someone. During the eight weeks I lived with my family here, I spent a lot of time wishing I didn’t have to listen to babies cry or people fight. But in retrospect my family was very nice, in that they really tried to listen to me and to teach me things, without being overbearing. I have a feeling that I’m going to miss that when I get to sight and have to deal with a very enthusiastic and overbearing counterpart. Not that that is bad either, as I’d rather have a motivated counterpart than someone who doesn’t really care.

Anyway, think of how much more I would get out of relationships if I made the effort to let someone know I appreciated them while we still had time together. I’m gonna have to work on that.

And our stagiare who ET’d is not ETing after all! That’s pretty exciting. Tomorrow we have a farewell ceremony and then Friday we swear in, using the exact same oath as that of the vice president. I never was particularly patriotic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I got a little teary-eyed during the oath. Oaths in general make me emotional, I guess I feel like they really mean something, an uncommon view these days I know. Call me old fashioned. In fact, I think I am actually becoming more old fashioned as I age. Its like as I get older my tastes are going back in years (thankfully skipping the 80s, 70s, and 60s). I’m probably around 1920 right about now, but part of me has successfully regressed to medieval chivalrous times or something.

There is a phrase from a book that I think of often, it goes something like this “form is everything, intent is nothing.” Like “actions speak louder than words,” only it makes me think of the conflict of acting with respect regardless of how you feel.