11-marzo, other thoughts, the palacio diaspora

today marks the anniversary of one of the deadliest 'terrorist' attacks on european soil. at 7:30 AM last year 10 bombs went off on 4 different trains in madrid. imagine that.

i did imagine just that last april as i rode with my parents on one of the previously bombed train lines. i noticed some nervousness in the air. i was toting luggage. were people wondering if i might be carrying a bomb in my luggage?

we in america might tend to forget that september 11 was not the only or the worst atrocity to occur. wars in africa, wars in the middle east, starving mouths, diseased mothers, orphaned children.

with that in mind, how can i justify my afternoon? at 10:00 i left work to watch the fighting illini play in the first round of the big ten tournament. free food, free parking, sitting in the skybox, and my alma mater won! i suppose the important thing is that i enjoy the experience with a touch of grace and heartfelt humility. i am blessed to not get what i deserve, on this earth or in the world to come.

but, after that i came back to work. and, for the first time, i'm blogging from work. my vp, manager, and all the staff have left for the day. it's great, actually, a chance to catch up on some of the projects, i'll stick around until 7:00, but first things first, i have to update the blog!

on 6 september, 2003, i purchased a condo unit that is now known as the palacio. on that same date chris, devlin and i went out for dinner to a little restaurant that someone had recommended to devlin. since then, el nandu has become one of our favourite places. naturally, to honour our last weekend as a trio living in the palacio, chris, devlin and i will be going back to el nandu for dinner. we will end right back at the beginning.

for 2 and a half years i have lived with these guys! it will be strange to see devlin go. even stranger to see him go to thailand, cambodia, india, australia, new zealand, peru, and brazil. i lose my breath just trying to type all of that! but, i really believe it's a great decision for him. he needs to see the world, to get away, to ponder life from the other side, to listen to the small voice in the silence of wandering solitude.

i wonder if he'll come back. my instinct says yes, but that's because i'm projecting my own logical and grounded worldview into his mind. i know him well, but to know how he will decide his fate is something only his Creator knows for sure.

when i write it out, it suddenly becomes real. on 14-march, he will have left. the world will continue to turn, we'll all be doing our thing. and devlin, he will be chasing the sunrise, he'll watch the sun come up more than 200 times again before he'll see it set again over the midwestern prairies.

yes, this world is large, and devlin will discover more of it than most, but even in his considerable wanderings, he will leave many stones unturned.

and so, tonight, i look forward to the ending of an era. the era of 3 boys living together in the palacio: loafing on couches, projecting movies onto the wall, informally selecting official palacio songs, sharing stories, insights, interests, advice, inspiration, watching the sun set...

yes, these were good days, and now these days have passed. now comes a new era, which, too, shall pass. God give me the sincerity, open-mindedness, ambition and humility to savour these days of the next era...