Reality Check

I've been back for a little over a week and it feels like an eternity. I think this past week went as slow as my first week of law school. It was painfully long.

The other day I took a longer route to walk to the train station so that I could enjoy the day and the beautiful weather we are having. As usual I passed a number of homeless people on the streets and I was reminded of how lucky I am to have a home, food, and a family that loves me. Right before I entered the station I saw an older Asian woman sitting on the ground, apart from the crowd. Her face was painted with strange face paint and she looked so forlorn and sad. She was just sitting there and people were passing her as if this was normal -even I did it. None of us stopped to see if she needed help or comfort. I haven't been able to get her off my mind and I wonder what her story was -why was she so sad, why was her face painted, why was she alone.

I started thinking, what if I were the one sitting on the ground, waiting for someone to notice me. What if nobody did. What a sad thought. My reality check came that I am so caught up in my own life so much of the time and not caught up in the lives of those around me. This isn't to say that I should stop and talk to everyone who looks a bit blue; if I did that I wouldn't stop talking to people. But I should be more aware of people around me and try to reach out more to them.

The countdown to my end in San Francisco has begun and sadly it will come much sooner than I anticipated. I'm not ready to leave.

My other reality check came when I realized that my pedometer was crediting me with an extra mile or so of running each time I ran. All along I've thought I was running just under 3 miles when low and behold I was running just under 1.5 miles. Crazy. So today I used a mapping tool and ran 3.3 miles (okay so I walked about 4 blocks worth of those three miles, but I felt pretty good that I actually did it. My goal is to run 3 miles, 3 times per week. (I'm just trying to keep up with the other Kera in the family.)

I love you all!

Lots of love,
Kara

Back in San Francisco

Dear Family,

I made it back to San Francisco and landed to a clear blue sky and 70 degree weather. Amazing. It's good to be back and to start myself in a routine again. That being said, the month-long vacation was amazing and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and caring family. I had such a great time and am thankful for each of you. It's funny how such a long time can pass so quickly and at the end I can feel like I didn't spend enough time with the family.

On the plane ride I started to read the book I received from Santa for Christmas A Single Life by Kristen Oaks. She has a comment that I thought was really funny that I want to share because I think it is a very true statement, at least in our family. "Not being married becomes a family affair...every relative seems affected by their single state." Just thought that was funny.

I'm excited to see all of you in a few short weeks! We should do a family picture (minus the in-laws because we wouldn't want to buck tradition by having them involved ;)).

Corm, I am so proud of you and look up to you as an example. Sorry that my book entry sucks. I'll try and write an addendum and send it to you so that your companions and your posterity won't think of me as the sister who had nothing to say to you about your mission. Duh.

I love you all!

Kara