Reintegration Part 2

Those of you who live in big cities may understand my discomfort at the lack of bars on the windows and doors of our home. Homes here are insanely easy to break into and I'm sure most burglars revel in all the big windows and isolation of each home here. I have to resist the urge to buy extra locks and alarms for our windows and doors.

I am enjoying the process of obtaining household furnishings and all the little items needed. I know where to find good prices on items and I speak the language of those selling what I need. Also, we own a large car that can haul all of our stuff to our new home. No negotiating with a furniture mover or piling a compact car full of our bags. We did save some household items but they're in 6 different homes in two states.

We are reveling in driving here. There's so much space between cars parked along the road and those driving. I do think there are too few roundabouts and too many traffic laws here. We lost our instinct for immediately putting on a seatbelt after riding so long in taxis. I also have had a lifelong hatred for cars because they never seem to run like I want them to. I did not miss owning a car!

Instead of falling asleep to the crooning of lusty feral cats (Amman's official vermin), I fall asleep to the quiet of the mountains and wake to the chitter of chipmunks and birds. We've seen elk, moose and deer around our home in the mountains. Being a Montanan and a nature lover the great empty outdoors was something I heartily missed. I'm so happy to be back where I can hike!

The absolute best part of coming home was coming home to our local church body. We had Skyped in some Sundays and I had Skyped into women's group bi-monthly. It's not the same as physically fellowshipping with your body though. My heart ached most often for that group and their friendship. I teared up our first Sunday back in service. The church we attended in Jordan was a fine place, but there was a language barrier and I didn't invest because I knew we'd be leaving.

As you can see there's been a lot of adjustment for us. Summer has flown by and we are gearing up for school next month.

What are we doing next? Jason will be teaching high school history at a private Christian school. The kids will be attending the private school. Our family was also hired to be the dorm family for the international students at the school. We will be living in a large brick dorm building with about ten Asian students. I will be spending my days managing the dorm and cooking meals for fourteen. We're hoping our time spent in Asia and our own understanding of how weird it can be in a foreign culture will be helpful for the girls.

Stay tuned for some last posts on Jordan and future fun of a house of fourteen!

Going To Bed, Alone

It's currently 10:45pm and on your average night I'd be hassling Jason to hurry up with his last snack so we could head to bed. But, instead, I'm reluctantly considering heading to bed because Jason's gone on a hiking trip.

I haven't had to sleep alone for 13 1/2 glorious years.

And it's hard...every time he's gone I struggle to go to bed without my living, breathing security blanket.

Sure, I slept alone for a number of years as a kid, but half of that time was spent scared of what I imagined lived under my bed (let's never speak of wolves again, okay?).  I do empathize and understand when my children are reluctant to head to their lonely beds.

I also recognize that some have spouses that bed hog or snore or cause other disruptions and may welcome an evening off. I'm not in that camp.

I will once again try the measures I always employ to try and fall asleep:

-Netflix
-reading
-internet nonsense
-melatonin

And now, since I have nothing else to distract me I will once again head to a lonely bed. Thankful that my lonely bed scenario is only temporary.