Oh Yes We Are!

I can't believe we've been home for 4 months already! This summer went by incredibly fast and I spent most of my time trying to purge and organize. We came home to a house full of 'stuff' that we just don't need! We've made several trips to Goodwill and sold big items on Craigslist, and the rest was sold at our garage sale last weekend. We got new siding and windows put on our house but still have a lot of little things to do, and now we're a couple of years behind. Rusty and I spent the 2^nd week of July being miserable – he got Influenza B and I got the mother-of-all sinus infections that led me to an allergy specialist who confirmed that I am pretty much allergic to everything having to do with nature.

The last 2 weeks in Africa were a blur, I was so busy packing and deciding what would be OK to leave behind. Rusty was adamant about us not going over the allotted 16 pieces of luggage, and that became quite a struggle for me. I filled up the top of our pool table 3 times with different items to give away, most of it went to our maid & her family. At the last minute I had to purge a box of kitchen items I was hoping to bring home, and Anna was very grateful to have all of it.

Our trip was pretty uneventful, which was a good thing! A big van/bus showed up at our house on June 1^st and we got everything loaded. A couple of families stopped by to say goodbye and help us finish up. I barely had time to think the last couple of days so I wasn't able to get too sad about leaving. It was hard saying goodbye to Anna whom Jackson had lovingly come to know as 'Noni'. Since he was just a baby when we moved, he hasn't known life without her. His last day of preschool was Thursday, and it was hard to say goodbye to his teachers, but I'm grateful for the internet so we can keep in touch. Miranda seemed to be handling it all very well, her last day of school was Friday and we left the next day. We made it to the airport in plenty of time. It took almost 2 hours to get all of our luggage and boxes wrapped and tagged and checked in. I am so proud of my kids and their behavior. They were antsy and whiny, but they are also 2 & 6, so that was expected. But no tantrums or meltdowns, so I call it a success. The first class lounge was a great place to relax, get some food & drinks, and mentally gather myself before we departed. Seeing people's reactions to 2 little kids sitting in business class seats made me laugh a little, they ranged from unbelief to jealousy to friendly conversations. The takeoff was a challenge because Jackson kept taking off his seat belt. I would have to say it was a little easier traveling TO Africa when he was 7 months old than it was flying home with him at 2 1/2. He did do a great job sleeping and for the most part was well behaved – no meltdowns or screaming – and the staff was so kind and helpful. Miranda was easy, just like last time, she just watched movies, played iPad, and slept. I was doing OK until they served dinner. Even though I took motion-sickness pills, they didn't work. Or maybe it was just the stress & anxiety finally catching up with me, but I was not well until there was about 5 hours left of the flight. I do not travel well. I spent about a half hour in the galley talking with the stewardesses which really helped calm my nerves.

Landing in Atlanta was a glorious thing! We didn't have a ton of time to relax after gathering all our luggage (all 16 – YES!) and getting it re-checked. But we were able to get some lunch/breakfast and get cleaned up before our last leg to KC. I could tell the difference right away in regards to service people. If we had given R100 ($10) to each person who helped us with our luggage in Africa, they would have been so appreciative and thanked us instead of sighing and rolling their eyes. Really? You just earned $10 for 5 minutes of service. The kids were about at the end of their ropes by the time we boarded our flight to KC, but then Jackson fell asleep and Miranda got candy, so it all turned out just fine. Landing in KC was an even more glorious thing! We were one of the first off the plane and our gate-checked items were right there waiting for us. Our entourage was there to greet us with signs and balloons and treats for the kids, Miranda ran off ahead of me and into the arms of her Grammy. Jackson was a little overwhelmed at first. We got all of our luggage pretty quickly (all 16 again!) and we had reserved 2 vans to transport it all to our house.

Miranda was so excited to get back to our house. She ran straight to her room and showed Jackson his room. My little Shih-tzu (Maeby) was there and she was so happy to see me. She would not stop licking my face which is not something she usually does. Then I went to the back door to see Jozi who had arrived 2 weeks earlier. She looked really confused, but she was also super excited to see us. Unfortunately she & Maeby don't get along well. Jozi is still a puppy and she just wants to play, but Maeby is 8 and just wants to be left alone so she can sleep. We were all starting to run on empty but got revived after we got everything unloaded. The kids started to go downhill quickly and were asleep in bed by 6:45 (1:45am Africa time). I was out by 7:30. Rusty was up by 2am and Miranda by 3am, but Jackson and I were able to sleep until 5:00am. We were all able to get back on schedule pretty quickly, and as the summer progressed, we slept in a little later each week.

Our first week back we spent getting over jet-lag and car shopping. Rusty picked up his Subaru WRX first, then we spent a few days test driving cars for me. I ended up with a Toyota Sienna SE that I still haven't gotten used to driving yet. It feels absolutely massive compared to my Corolla I've been driving the past 2 years. I only drove on the wrong side of the road once, and it was in our neighborhood and Rusty was in the car to correct me. I'm getting better, but I still turn on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal at least once a week. After a few months I finally had to fill it up myself. I never did in SA since you're not allowed to (unless there is a strike). I miss not knowing where the police are set up with their radar cameras. Since it would take about 3-6 months for your speeding ticket to get mailed to you, I'm wondering if any will start rolling in from our last few weeks we spent driving in Africa. Come and get your money!

Moving back to the US was quite a reverse culture shock. More so than I thought it would be. The biggest thing I noticed was how clean everything was and how wide the driving lanes are. The first trip to the grocery store was incredible, I wanted to buy everything! I kept having to remind myself that I don't have to buy all my favorite things right now because it will be there next time. And I really need to stop handing the check-out workers my credit card when I'm allowed to scan it myself. The super-clean day-glow white eggs kind of freaked me out, so I paid a little extra and bought the brown ones. I had been told by friends who have made trips home that you can taste the chemicals/hormones in the fruit, and they were right. I couldn't eat the bananas, apples, strawberries, and grapes for awhile. I visited a Whole Foods and their produce tasted like what I was used to. I have now gotten used to the taste of regular fruit, but I am still shocked at the difference and am surprised that I could actually taste it. I was surprised when I bought too much bread that it was still good after 2 weeks. And I can buy a week's worth of milk and it won't go sour. Hamburger Helper was my new best friend the first few weeks, but I'm already burned out. I miss Melrose Cheese that I could buy in a jar, but Velveeta works OK. I found my favorite jam that I used to buy at Woolworth's in Africa, so that was a nice surprise. I find myself checking my purse frequently to make sure it's zipped up and my cell phone is put away and out of sight. I still wear it across my body and never put it in the seat of the shopping cart. JoCo would be a thieves paradise if they could see how careless and trusting some people are. But I love that I can go shopping at 7:00pm and ALL the stores are still open! Having the sun still be out at that time is a wonderful thing as well. Summertime in SA meant 4am sunup but 7pm sundown. When I made Miranda go to bed at 8:30 and it was still bright out, she says to me “Is it REALLY time to go to bed?” A few other things I'm getting used to are resisting the urge to open my windows to air the house house when it's getting stuffy. I keep trying to turn the light on in the bathroom by flipping the switch on the outside. I also keep saying 'back home' when referring to stuff in Africa and I don't know why. I do miss a lot of things about South Africa and wish I would have had one more year there. I just needed a break, to come back home to the 'real world' for a few weeks, and then I could have pushed on. Two years was a long time to not visit home, and having little breaks would have made it a lot more bearable. But traveling with 2 little kids is expensive and stressful, so we are home for good. I am still trying to find my routine now that both kids are in school. Our house is getting in order, and although I don't enjoy having to clean it, it's half the size of our house in SA so it's doable. We've been so lucky to have a cooler summer although the humidity is something I was not at all prepared for. I think I'm going to have a rough winter. When it gets below 70 I feel cold and want to wear jeans and a jacket. Last night I had to resist the urge to run upstairs and unplug our router for fear that lightning would hit our house.

So our African adventure is over and I'm back in the 'real world' again. My brain is full of stories and memories and my computer is full of thousands of pictures and videos. Hopefully I will make it back there one day, I should probably start saving now so I can pay for the 'trip of a lifetime' and show Jackson where he took his first steps and learned to talk. Although it was quite a struggle at times and I don't adjust well to change, I'm so happy we did it and only regret that we didn't have more time.