closing time.

celebrating at the end of year banquet.

another school year is drawing to a close for us.

it is crazy for me to think that debo and i have been living on a college campus for nearly five years now, as long as we will have been married (come june).

since we have started this life together we have spent time with five different staffs of resident assistants. every year our staff is unique from the last. along with supporting these students, we have also gotten to know so many different others from so many different places, with different backgrounds, and different hopes and dreams and directions.

it is such a beautiful thing to be involved in these students lives. to see them learn, and grow, and take on this thing we call real life.

in truth it is a honor.

our life has been one full of many interruptions. hospital visits at 3am. late night conversations about the human condition and God. tears over the loss of loved ones, broken engagements and relationships, roommate conflicts, and frustrations. visits filled with happy news of jobs found, marriage proposals, exciting new internships, and joy over things being learned.

as much as we listen, as much as we "advise,", and as much as we get to know our students, i always find that it is really them who have blessed me with such growth. i have learned so much from how they live, love, cry, speak, hope, and dream. their lives impact me and as we watch some graduate at the end of each year my heart feels heavy at their leaving. after all, since we live among students it is them who have been with us as we embarked on married life, parenthood, and the simple daily grind. they see us when we are at our best and sometimes, yes, at our worst.

our 2012-2013 staff of RA's

what a blessing it has been to be able to do life with these people, even if it sometimes is only for a short while. every year is a new start, and each year has a beautiful (albeit chaotic) ending. 

"it's the circle of life..."

so, this is our life in a nutshell.