Recently we started saying things like;
“A year ago we were flying into New Zealand.”
“A year ago we were hiking the Tongariro Crossing.”
“A year ago we were kayaking in the Kenepuru Sound.”
Yesterday, one year ago, we were flying home. We flew out of Auckland late in the evening on February 7th, and landed in San Francisco mid-morning on…February 7th. Very time-warpish to have two full days of the same date. We drove up the coast to the town I went to college in and proceeded to stuff our faces with burgers (real American hamburgers!) at one of my favorite local breweries. We were a mess. We had been wearing the same 3 outfits repeatedly and hadn’t cut our hair for over 15 months. We felt both out of place, and totally comfortable.
The first picture of us back in the States.
It’s stunning how time can go both so fast, and so slow, all at once. A lot has happened in the last year. We’ve moved back to my home state. We got our cats back from the friend who cared for them while we were away. I’ve gone back into teaching. Justin’s branching out and trying out new career ideas. My youngest brother bought a house. My other brother moved home from Thailand, and then moved back out to Indonesia. My father was diagnosed, treated, and is recovering from cancer. My mother walked the Camino de Santiago. We’ve reconnected with old friends, and made some new ones. There have been weddings and babies. We bought a car and a season ski pass and a couch. We have settled back into a routine.
There have been lots of questions about whether we miss traveling, or New York. The truth is that we don’t really miss anything. I believe that if you are missing things from your past, then you probably aren’t living to your fullest potential in the moment. We have had an amazing life so far and we hold the memories of places we’ve been and people we met in our hearts, BUT, we love – being able to see family regularly – the mountains – having an apartment that is more than twice the size of what we had in NYC for less than half the rent – knowing that we don’t ‘need’ things to be happy – having a routine and a home that’s comfortable and safe at the end of each day – feeling purposeful in our work – taking walks in our new neighborhood and discovering our new favorite places to eat and drink and read.
We have no idea what the future holds. We hope there are a lot more adventures left to be had, but we’re not going to spend a lot of time worrying about that. For now, we’re happy right where we are.
The Parallel Life 
Man, what’s in that Colorado air? Between you all and Eric, a lot of reflecting going on recently. :-). Glad you all are happy and settled in. Looking forward to being there soon.
And by ‘being there’ I hope you mean you plan to move here 😉
It’s been wonderful going on your adventure with you both and knowing you through your writings….I’ve enjoyed every minute! Thank you….
Thanks Carlene!
I know I don’t really “know” you but I want to just respond with “<3". Love that happiness and contentment! 🙂 So fantastic that things are going so well for you guys!
You mean you don’t miss washing your clothes by hand in the shower, or wandering around looking for a place to stay every night? 😉 But surely you do miss traveling with us and restarting Betsey every few hours! 🙂
So glad you guys are happy and doing well in CO. Also so glad to hear your families are doing so great!
Less than 4 months and we will be back to the US for good as well!
🙂