As I sit here, barely able to hold my eyes open (though it's 2:00 in the afternoon!), Reece babbles in his crib, trying to fall asleep (though there's a good chance he won't). He slept through the night all week, and we'd started to think maybe we'd turned a corner, but the last couple of nights have been terr.i.ble. Ugh. Multiple wake-ups is always so much harder after you've gotten used to being fully rested again!
Eric and Cade are off on another of what we have come to refer to as the "birthday party adventure." Seriously. So many, many stories to tell of the headaches that have arisen as a result of what should be (in our minds) a simple birthday party. But so many things aren't simple when you live overseas. The worst fight of our marriage--one when I'd decided I was going home to pack my bags and fly back to the States that afternoon--was a result of not being able to find a birthday party.
These are the kinds of things I'm not going to miss.
That's right. I'm making it public. We won't be back in Seoul next year. Most of you already know, anyway, but it's been harder to blog without alluding to thoughts of next year. So much of our thinking at this point seems to revolve around how little we know about next year.
And while there is a huge part of me that breathes a sigh of relief when I think about birthday parties or my outing this morning, (The hostess had sent out a map that did.not.help me at all! I knew the area where she lived, and I still couldn't figure out where it was based on the map and address she provided.), there is another part of me that grieves.
This morning, I was invited to a Christmas tea. Not really my sort of thing, but I like people. I like food. So why not go? Just because it's 32 degrees out and I don't know where I'm going? Maybe. Because I have to bring something and lug it all the way over there? Maybe. Because I have to be out of the house by 8:40? Probably. Because I can't just hop in the car and drive over there? Sure.
But, I pulled up my big girl panties, I texted a friend to walk with, I threw together some coffee, some pumpkin caramel, and some peppermint simple syrup, and headed out into the cold to hang out and laugh with some lovely ladies. Some I'm just getting to know because they only arrived a few months ago and some I've known since we've been here, but I'm always getting to know better.
And those are the moments when I wish we weren't leaving. When you're surrounded by community that you've been plopped right into. I might not love every one of those women, but when I moved here with no friends and no family, they took me in. They will understand things about me that many of my old friends never will. They won't expect me to be the person that I was before I became an expat. They've been here for me when I've had no one else, and for that I'm so grateful.
We don't know where we're going to be in six months. We don't know if we'll have jobs or a place to live or friends and family nearby. All we know is that God is going ahead of us. Paving the way for us, and we're just praying that there will be a community waiting for us wherever we end up.
(If you, too, are looking to make some food to take pictures of (oh, am I the only who does that?! haha), then I definitely recommend this recipe for pumpkin scones and this recipe for pumpkin caramel...both are amazing!!)
Eric and Cade are off on another of what we have come to refer to as the "birthday party adventure." Seriously. So many, many stories to tell of the headaches that have arisen as a result of what should be (in our minds) a simple birthday party. But so many things aren't simple when you live overseas. The worst fight of our marriage--one when I'd decided I was going home to pack my bags and fly back to the States that afternoon--was a result of not being able to find a birthday party.
These are the kinds of things I'm not going to miss.
That's right. I'm making it public. We won't be back in Seoul next year. Most of you already know, anyway, but it's been harder to blog without alluding to thoughts of next year. So much of our thinking at this point seems to revolve around how little we know about next year.
And while there is a huge part of me that breathes a sigh of relief when I think about birthday parties or my outing this morning, (The hostess had sent out a map that did.not.help me at all! I knew the area where she lived, and I still couldn't figure out where it was based on the map and address she provided.), there is another part of me that grieves.
This morning, I was invited to a Christmas tea. Not really my sort of thing, but I like people. I like food. So why not go? Just because it's 32 degrees out and I don't know where I'm going? Maybe. Because I have to bring something and lug it all the way over there? Maybe. Because I have to be out of the house by 8:40? Probably. Because I can't just hop in the car and drive over there? Sure.
But, I pulled up my big girl panties, I texted a friend to walk with, I threw together some coffee, some pumpkin caramel, and some peppermint simple syrup, and headed out into the cold to hang out and laugh with some lovely ladies. Some I'm just getting to know because they only arrived a few months ago and some I've known since we've been here, but I'm always getting to know better.
And those are the moments when I wish we weren't leaving. When you're surrounded by community that you've been plopped right into. I might not love every one of those women, but when I moved here with no friends and no family, they took me in. They will understand things about me that many of my old friends never will. They won't expect me to be the person that I was before I became an expat. They've been here for me when I've had no one else, and for that I'm so grateful.
We don't know where we're going to be in six months. We don't know if we'll have jobs or a place to live or friends and family nearby. All we know is that God is going ahead of us. Paving the way for us, and we're just praying that there will be a community waiting for us wherever we end up.
(If you, too, are looking to make some food to take pictures of (oh, am I the only who does that?! haha), then I definitely recommend this recipe for pumpkin scones and this recipe for pumpkin caramel...both are amazing!!)
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