And ending but also a new beginning (finally home)

Thank you to all who have welcomed us home. I do have to say, it feels amazing to be back in our own space, and there truly is no place like home.

When we embarked on this journey and decided to rent out our house, most of our personal belongings went into storage in our basement. My main project since we’ve returned has been avoiding that mess downstairs. (Just kidding. Kind of.) When I was packing, I thought I would just automatically return everything to its place upon our return. Now that we’re back and I haven’t needed or missed any of those items for the last nine months … do I really need them at all? Jury is still out on that, for sure!

Being able to slowly reacclimate has been an amazing blessing. So has reconnecting with neighbors. The house, thank God, is in really good shape—a few projects here and there that I’ll get to this summer, but nothing urgent. Alayna wanted to order canvas prints of the family photos we had taken in Beaufort, so that’s been a priority. I also want to document and organize all the photos we took on our tour for future reference, which brings me to…

“Travel in a Time of COVID” is the working title for my new book. I’m still not sure whether anyone else would be interested in reading about our travels—much less whether anyone in the publishing industry would care. But this is a project that feels right for me at this time. If nothing else, it will be a reminder of our journey for our family. (Maybe even some of the parts we wish we would forget!) I’m grateful to have this blog as a reference point; amazing the details I’ve already forgotten.

As I put together an outline for this book, I’m able to connect lessons learned along the way with events and memories of different geographical places. So in addition to it being a memoir, I’m also hoping to tie in “Life lessons learned while touring the country during a pandemic.” Not exactly a title that flows off the tongue, but I’ll work on it.

One main lesson is not a life lesson per se, but more of a confirmation of what I’ve long known to be true—I have the most wonderful and insightful friends. Month after month, we’ve all felt the love and support from our dear ones back home, especially during those times when I’ve admitted that things were not going smoothly or that I’ve expressed doubt or uncertainty about our next steps. One lovely friend brought me to tears when she summed up exactly how I was feeling: “When a person is on a journey that expands the soul, you may come back to a familiar place, but not as the same person within.” Is that not perfect?! Later, when I was lamenting for the millionth time that I didn’t know how I would be able to go home again after having such a blast on the road with my family, another wonderful friend pointed out to me that “One adventure has to end in order for another to begin.”

So what is the next adventure? Reacclimating to home life, to start. Our evenings are going to be consumed by soccer practices and games for the next several months. (Since both girls had their seasons wiped out last year, I guess I’m due for some serious time by the sidelines this spring and summer!) Tony and I are both committed to getting back into shape after months of eating and drinking too much and exercising too little. We also want to see all of our family members and friends—especially those we haven’t seen since before the pandemic. Going back to our church this weekend was a fantastic first step. We definitely have felt the love and prayers from our amazing parish family on this adventure!

Last thing—I hope I have expressed in every single post how grateful we are to our loved ones who have prayed for our health and safety. It doesn’t even seem possible that our trip went as well as it did. We had absolutely zero car problems throughout, and everyone stayed healthy. No major items were forgotten or lost and, for the most part, we still pretty much like each other. In short, none of the things that I worried or stressed about in the beginning came to fruition, and I give 100 percent of the credit to our Lord. Nothing happens by accident; He truly blessed our journey. I don’t have the words to express how amazing this all has been.

De Pere friends, please reach out if you would like to get together for a coffee or go for a walk. I’m not going to go gangbusters on scheduling events and appointments, so my calendar should be pretty open for the time being. To those of you who live further away, let’s make a plan for this summer! After all, I know it won’t be long before the road starts calling to us again…

Much love to you all!