The final day here is always a day of reflection. Today, as we had our umpteen-hundredth ice
cream cone here, we decided we’d reflect on ice cream cones and share as many
ice cream cone pictures as we could find from our five visits to this part of the
world. In many ways, they capture as
well as anything what this experience has meant for us as a family: the people
we’ve shared them with, the places they’ve taken us, the joy they have brought. And, of course, how much we’ve grown.
Each time we have been here has been special, this time
because the kids are a bit older and now remembering people and places. Celia even took notes this year on everything
she learned about Slovenia. For me, I
learn so much just from watching them experience this part of the world: how to
keep an open mind, how to welcome new relationships, and how to embrace the
simple things…like ice cream cones.