53,000 miles, 32 countries, and 402 days of nomadic travelling came to an end the same way it started, visiting parents. The whirlwind that happened from when I did the last post in Rome was an insane amount of stuff, and I hope to catch up on those posts, I do. Hope is a wonderful and elusive thing.
A concrete deadline loomed back home, robotics camp for Cali at UM in July. A small robot is eventually what forced us to come home. We landed in Toronto, then went South to Pittsburgh.
With the exception of our parents, very few friends and family want to hear stories from our year. Most aren’t curious to even eek out a question. We respond to people’s level of interest, which is mostly low to absent. Inquiry: “Good trip?” Response:”Very.” Next subject. I’ve always been eager to hear of other people’s travels, so I ask questions until I’ve worn them out. But with the exception of our parents, family and friends don’t share our travel interest in quite the same way, so we stick to the old stand-by subjects.
Driving South gave us a time to hear our own language, have some familiar foods we’ve missed, and just settle back into a familiar culture. We were excited to cross our state line, to be back in the land of palm trees, citrus, and unending warmth. Funny thing about driving into your hometown after travelling or being away for a chunk of time–everything is so familiar and unchanged, except you.
We crammed into the townhouse which fit us, but was tight. Within two weeks we sorted out where we would live, found a house and moved in August 1. We’ve spent the last month getting cars, moving into the house and making it our own–changing light fixtures, planting lavender and herbs, getting Cali registered for high school, putting braces on the teen, registering all the logistical things.
Cali started high school not knowing one person. She sat solo in the cafe the first day, and made sure it never happened again. Always the resourceful adaptable one. She tried out for cheer leading with 30 other girls and made the squad. There are so many clubs she wants to join, we’ll see how it all fits. The older two sorted out which all their university stuff like a couple of bosses.
It’s been a hectic time, but we’re wired for it. Perhaps it’s when we’re at our best. We know how to do transition, thrive on new places and adjusting. We commented on it often when we were traveling, how after even a week, some places felt like home, like we’d been there a long time. Already, this place, this house, this area feels like home.