It has been a good week back in the U.S.
We just got back from taking a tour of Justin's lab and having lunch with Jordan, Becca, Joel and Justin before Jordan and Becca get on the road and drive back to Delaware.
They arrived into town Friday evening and we've spent this weekend visiting with them and soaking up as much time together as we can.
It's been a good week.
A very good week. Restful. Full of peace and ease and loads of laughter. It's nice coming back. We didn't realize how much we would miss the U.S. until we were gone and it's great to be able to come back and enjoy all that our country has to offer, even if just for a month.
So far we have gotten reacquainted with Walmart, Target, a mall, and I have come to discover that as nice as those retail options are to have....they don't hold the appeal that they used to. I found myself walking through Target and thinking, I don't need any of this. I don't want any of this stuff. We'd go in, get exactly what we needed and not feel this compulsive need to buy buy buy because we'd been without it for so long. I feel that in our time away it has made us much more practical and disinterested in shopping the way we used to.
I needed a new pair of jeans so I went to American Eagle, and walked out with a new pair of jeans.....that was it.
I kinda surprised myself. That's so unlike the me of the past!
I had big plans to go to the movies A LOT while we were here. I had a list all ready of all the movies that were coming out that I wanted to see. But once we got here, me and Isaak were like, meh, lets just wait six months until they come out on Itunes and watch it at home.
We are so used to living without all of these wonderful stores and luxuries that we don't really care whether we partake of them or not. The appeal is no longer there. It's a lot easier and cost effective and cozy to just download a new movie from Itunes and watch it from home. Yes, we are watching it months after it's release, but who cares?
I will say, however; that the food here has NOT lost its appeal. We have been taking full advantage of the delicious food available. The day we landed we went straight to Mcdonald's for some happy meals, hit up the grocery store the following day for some strawberries, grapes, and fish.
The accessibility of food here just leaves me shaking my head, I can't get over it. I mean, everything, everything is just right at your fingertips. A plethora of cheeses, oh my gosh, the cheese. The fruits and fish and yogurt and desserts. The restaurants that are open all the time. The ease of pre-made food that you can just pop in the oven and not even have to cook. For dinner on Saturday we popped two aluminum pans of yeast rolls into the oven and 25 minutes later they were ready to go. The tortillas we used for our Mexican night to roll up the burritos we just pulled out of a bag. Tortillas in Burkina are a two hour process. Beans take all day to make in the crockpot. But here, food is just so easy and accessible. I love it. Dinners here can actually take 30 minutes to cook! From start to finish! I don't know the last time I made dinner in thirty minutes. Somedays I have to start cooking at noon for it to be ready by 6pm.
I feel a lot healthier. Being able to eat a lot of good food definitely helps. But I am moving around a lot more. I was outside with the kids this week (despite the cold) and just walking around the property, pushing Steve in the little tykes car, playing on the swings, walking through parking lots, up and down stairs...just regular life moving feels good. I don't move around that much in Burkina. Yes, I exercise, but that is intentional moving. I'm talking about the moving that comes just from living life and doing regular stuff. The climate there is so extreme and just the living conditions and culture being so vastly different I don't move as much. Burkina doesn't have these huge parking lots to walk through to get to stores. Burkina doesn't have big yards or sidewalks, our house doesn't have stairs, and it's a lot harder to move your body around their naturally. Well, for me and most other expats living in the country...not the Burkinabés. I have a car and indoor plumbing. I don't spend my days walking on foot to a nearby well and lugging jugs of water back on my head. Burkinabés move all the time. They are strong and get a lot of exercise just by living life. Me on the other hand, I could probably benefit from lugging around some water on a daily basis. Just walking up to Jaclyn's third floor makes me winded!
But we are so so happy to be back.
In addition to the eating and the little bit of retail shopping we have done, we were also able to knock out some appointments this week as well. The girls both had dental visits, me and Sydaleigh both had eye exams, and I got a much needed hair cut. Hallelujah.
Last night we all gathered at Joel's house and we all got to see Uncle Chris, Aunt Jane, Justin, Lisa, Emma and their five day old new baby Olivia. She is precious! As well as Jacob, Heather and all their little boys, plus Raymond and Kelsey and Jaclyn and Keith came over in addition to Jordan, Becca, Abby and Victoria. It was a full house over there! I thought my heart was going to burst from joy getting to see and spend time with so much family. Gosh I love my people. Steve was just beside himself with joy as well. He kept saying, "they're all mine!" Yes little man, this crazy family is all yours.
It has been a good week. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights, introduced the family to Ticket to Ride, the kids have played outside non-stop for hours on end not caring that it is only 30 degrees outside some days. Isaak has gotten to shoot guns in the back yard with Keith, I have enjoyed the simple pleasures of helping Jaclyn clean the house, and we all accompanied Keith and Jaclyn to pick out their Christmas tree and decorate it together.
Marvelly's the only one who has gotten sick so far with a quick 12 hour throw up bug but everyone else has been feeling good. Very good. We are rested. Everyone is over the jet lag and no longer waking up at 5am and we have throughly enjoyed our first week back.
It's been good.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be back and am relishing every single grape and strawberry that I eat!
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