July Update

It’s been more than a month since we started our most recent “live out of the suitcase” style of life.  I’d have to say it’s been my favorite of all the previous. 

The month started out with us moving all our stuff, and when I say all, I mean everything: commode, sinks, dogs and dressers, out of our old house and shoved away into a 10 by 8 room where they will joyously await our arrival back to Chile in mid August. (Well the dogs are hanging out at a sister church, we’re not that crazy.)  Let's not spend any more time talking about that day though…

Because of how sour the contract had gone with the house we got the awesome opportunity to invade our good friends’, the Dwyers, house, while they did soccer camps in the United States.  It was a wild two weeks of little sleep, well for the two grown adults in our gang.  And then Coen finally begin his amazing 9-11 hour of sleeping through the night routine.  Previously it was about 5-8, which isn’t all that bad, but it’s been huge having him sleep so well this month.  The keys to our house along with all the responsibilities and thoughts of, “Is that house finally empty?” were turned in on the 9^th and we were flying on our way to the good ol’ US on the 11^th.  All the romanticizing and expectations have been absolutely blown away, and I’m beyond ecstatic to be able to write that sentence in the lovely and ever so present tense, present continuous and not past.

The first two weeks we spent with Christine’s family and extended family, celebrating the jaw dropping 60^th anniversary of her grandparents, being introduced to infinite infants, deliciously delectable dishes, voracious views and countless conversation.  I can now see why some pastors like alliteration so much, maybe I’ll apply this more often, maybe not. 

All in all, it was surreal in both a joyous and painful way.  We already miss Cincinnati with all its wonderful, amazing, lovely, caring and hospitable family and friends.  I’m not sure if life will ever again offer us a residence where there isn’t pain longing for another residence, and yet the intentionality with which we live when we do see loved ones and friends is something that I’m sure we were overlooking and did not respect before our move to the grand Chile. 

We touched down in my home town of Charlotte this past Saturday and I’ve been trying to hold my breath to slow down this blur of time.  ¿Why couldn’t we get a pause button once a year to just add another few hundred hours to a day? ¿Is that too much of a request? 

We knew Charlotte was going to be rough (schedule wise,) hopping from one lunch to the next house, to the next dinner, but over all it’s been very sane and so dang good and we’ve still got another 10 days or so!  There’s that lovely present continuous again J. 

I don’t know what else I should say.  I fear getting into details would both extend this little update to more than reader’s desires and prove words useless and superficial to describe the experiences that we’ve had the past 31 segments of 24 hours.

It’s been good, real good.