Almost home

So wonderfully strange to be back on American soil and not planning on the visit ending. I wish I could put my emotions into words but all you would get would be a mish mash of verbs that would leave you no closer to understanding the myriad of emotions this particular move has stirred in JB and me.

Are we excited? Yes.

Sad? A bit.

Overwhelmed? You betcha.

Relieved? A ton.

Giddy? Oh yeah.

Exhausted? Beyond words.

We had an absolutely amazing time with The Stebbins family. I have a few pictures I want to share on the Blog but I can't load pictures using my iPad .... So they will have to wait until I can use a real computer. I will write more about this visit when I have a real keyboard but for now let me say that William was my boys first real buddy and having them back together was amazing. In addition, Stebbs has always just been good for my soul. She is real with me and we laugh and joke and just .... BE .... And that feels so great. We get each other and  the overseas life. Sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself!

We spent Monday at Mt. Vernon. On Tuesday, JB and his dad drove to Norfolk to pick up our van from the port. (We still don't understand why the van couldn't come into the Baltimore port!) While they were gone, Stebbs and I had the opportunity to take the three boys to a couple of museums. Then, on Wednesday morning, we loaded up our rental and real van and began the drive to Tennessee.

If think of it, please pray for our kiddos, especially Sidge who has had some real stress during this move. Isaac seems to be doing pretty well but is hard to know because he is not nearly as forthcoming with emotions as Sidge is. We often wonder if he is feeling the same things, just not sharing them as continually as Sidge does. And Abigail just keeps saying, "Daddy, you just kidding," when we tell her this land on the highway is Tennessee. I think she was expecting something much more dramatic! A real place if you will. You can tell her little mind cannot comprehend that Tennessee is a new world .... Not one building." 

We as military families are very prepared for the stress military moves, especially big ones, can cause in kids, but it is still hard to witness. Little things keep happening that make us aware of how different this new life will be. 

One example was at Mt. Vernon. Sidge grew concerned with how we would find him if he got lost in the crowds ... Which were minimal that morning. We had to explain safety measures that have previously not been an issue at our two isolated assignments.

Another example is the water fountains the boys are seeing at rest stops. Overseas, water is not free so they have loved getting drinks out of these whenever they see them on our trip. Just something new that may be routine for kids growing up in America.

And they keep making whispering comments about people they are seeing. People are dressed very differently now. Men in Portugal and Turkey and in the military community did not have ponytails or piercings. Wh do all these men have them? Is that okay? It is funny that even when your kids are culturally aware, that experience is limited to the places they are experiencing culture.

Much, much more to come as today, we move into our rental home! We met our landlord last night to get the keys! Today we hope to turn on the water and spend hours taking in the soft carpets and thermostat on the wall!