Just a thought

Here I am, still awake, even though it is getting rather late. Well, that's not the point of my post. I went over to my friend, Erin's, apartment, yesterday. She lives on the third floor and has a balcony facing the parking lot. As I was leaving, I was suddenly struck with a wave of sadness. This feeling was linked to a profound missing of my mission.
You see, in one city, there was a woman and her son whom we visited regularly. Every week we went to their home which was inside a hostel. Basically, this is a building where everyone has separate rooms, but they share the bathroom/kitchen with several people. It is kind of like a dormitory. Anyway, their rooms were near the balcony facing the front of the building. Every week, they would walk us out and wave to us from the top of the stairs as we walked out (they lived on the fifth floor). Then they hurried to their balcony window and waved to us as we walked out of sight. (See above - Татьяна (Tatiana) and Саша (Sasha) from their balcony - woman on the right is a neighbor of theirs) I'll never forget that small gesture. In that action, I felt their love.
As I left my friend's apartment, I wished that I could have another moment like the one experienced at that hostel in Russia. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect my friend to wave to me from her balcony window as I walk to my car and drive away. She has two kids and a home daycare, so I know that isn't something she can really do. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that such little things, like walking from a building, can remind you of places far away and people long gone. Most people who have served missions can probably attest to the longing to return, and still more people can probably understand that desire to see people they haven't seen in a long time after a simple little act.
Well, I don't know if this make any sense at all. I hope that amongst the ramblings, you can understand my sentiments.

Currently Reading:
The Silver Chair
by C. S. Lewis